Patient on S3 goes AWOL and travels abroad for longer than a year - what happens?

Law and practice Mental Health Act
1

Scenario:

Inpatient on S3 of the MHA has gone abroad for over a year now and is living abroad without any idea if he/she will be coming back.

What would happen and what a consultant have to decide based on this and knowing that they have not returned to the ward for a year now…

Thanks

2

The s.3 has come to an end after that length of time, so there is nothing to decide from a legal perspective as things stand.

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3

Would the consultant be able to renew the section 3? If the patient is still AWOL?

4

Worcestershire is very helpful here, also. By going out of the jurisdiction with no plan to return, the patient has become a person to whom the s.117 aftercare duty no longer applies, and you should consider with the responsible authorities discharging that duty as soon as they are satisfied as to the point.

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5

When a patient detained under Section 3 of the Mental Health Act (MHA) 1983 goes abroad and remains there for over a year (absent without leave - AWOL), the legal situation generally results in the expiration of their detention, as the UK has no legal power to compel a person’s return from a foreign country.

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6

So the s3 would simply lapse if this is what you are saying?

7

I suppose it would depend on that person remaining safe whilst abroad too and if they have secure accommodation, job, etc.

8

Worcestershire has no relevance here.

This post doesn’t make any reference to S.117 but the correct legal position is found in S.117(3)(a) which notes that the relevant period is where a patient was ordinarily resident “immediately before being detained”. The relevant period is prior to the Section 3 detention, not after. If the patient returns to the UK and the ICB/LA have not discharged their duty under S.117(2), they remain responsible for his S.117 needs.

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9

No. Tim’s response does not answer your question.

Your question was already answered here.

(4) A patient shall not be taken into custody under this section after the later of—

(a) the end of the period of six months beginning with the first day of his absence without leave; and

(b) the end of the period for which (apart from section 21 below) he is liable to be detained or subject to guardianship or, in the case of a community patient, the community treatment order is in force

The Section 3 will automatically expire and the patient cannot be retaken after the above periods; whichever is later out of (a) 6 months after the date of AWOL, or (b) the end of the current eligibility. If the patient has been abroad for over a year, the Section 3 would have lapsed. To redetain this patient, a fresh MHA Assessment would need to be conducted.

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10

The patient’s Section 3 will likely be, or already has been, ended by the passage of time. The consultant cannot force their return and will have to accept that the patient is no longer under their jurisdiction. Should the patient return, a fresh assessment is necessary

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11

So would s117 duty lapse after a year of someone abroad? I suppose the main question is would s3 lapse rather than anything else.

12

Hi Zac

So if the patient goes AWOL 4 months before the section expires would the consultant still need to keep their bed until the s3 expiry date or 6 months after the s3 expiry date or 6 months after the AWOL date?

Thanks

13

I dont know if a fresh assessment would be mandatory. Considering they have no reason if the patient has kept themselves well.