Who is responsible for notifying the detaining hospital and the MOJ of a patients s48/49 criminal court proceedings taking place/coming to an end and what documentation can we expect to receive including any timescales that would apply.
There have been occasions where no one knows the outcome of the court hearings/no supporting documentation is received, there is uncertainty regarding the patients legal status normally resulting in detention under s5(2) followed by a s3 or the patient being detained unlawfully because the hospital was not informed of the court hearing, patient was not asked to attend and the above section came to an end due to court proceedings having been concluded and the MOJ, probation officer, defense solicitor, court clerk also not providing timely communication if any to the patient/hospital.
When the patient is admitted you will need to contact the court (outlined on warrant) when the Custody Time Limit expires. They will let you know the date the patient is expected to attend court. If there is a belief that the patient will be discharged and still needs to be detained under the MHA then you will need to make arrangements for a Section 3 on the court date.
Hello, The system we have in place that on admission, we email the court clerks for future dates and the purpose of the hearing. If the patient is attending court on a S48/49 then the escorting nurses should be aware of the outcome of sentencing. Once sentence is known we email the court for a copy of the S37 or S37/41. If the case is dropped and the patient remains mentally unwell then a risk assessment should be in place in case you need to detain under a Section 2/3. Once we have regraded the patient then we also notify the MOJ.