MHA S117 is separate from the Care Act although some issues can overlap. S117 aftercare is an absolute legal entitlement that does not need to be assessed. However it seems that many social workers are only trained in the Care Act and tick the “job done” box by doing an annual Care Act assessment. This blinkered approach makes them blind to any obligations under S117. The fault here is with their management and this may be the primary cause of the issue. Perhaps a failure to keep themselves, and their social workers, adequately trained in responsibilities under current legislation.
My relative, a disabled young adult, was detained under an S117 qualifying section some years ago. The family were unaware what S117 aftercare was, and social services were unhelpful in that all that they did was to follow their Care Act responsibilities. Until we asked about S117 reviews the only mention of S117 was a simple assessment as part of the annual Care Act review to get partial funding from the ICB even though no specific S117 aftercare services were being provided. We also learned that social services had lost touch with hundreds of people who were entitled to S117 aftercare.
Responsibility for S117 aftercare is shared jointly with social services, the NHS, and the ICB. As part of the discharge process there must be an S117 aftercare plan in place. I found this recent comprehensive statutory guidance on the discharge process: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/discharge-from-mental-health-inpatient-settings/discharge-from-mental-health-inpatient-settings. Perhaps local services have not read this yet. A social worker manager once told me that “guidance is not law” but the purpose of the guidance is to assist agencies, such as social services, in following the law. If they don’t follow guidance then they will have difficulty demonstrating that they followed the law.
Social services, the NHS, and the ICB will have a documented S117 policy. This policy will have provision for regular (at least annual) S117 reviews and a process for discharging from S117 if it is no longer needed. S117 can not be bypassed (see https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/t/section-117-can-the-duty-be-ended-before-discharge-based-on-an-assessment-that-there-are-no-aftercare-needs/1093) or ended just by discharging from secondary care, or a refusal to take prescribed medication. The review process is important in monitoring the purpose of S117 aftercare, i.e. preventing a relapse, and requires the participation of a Responsible Clinician, and a Care Coordinator. Getting a review may only be part of the problem as our family’s experience is that organisations did not understand or admit their responsibilities even after three complaints to the ombudsman. See: s117 MHA 1983 and ‘entrenched indifference’ – Luke Clements
If this issue cannot be sorted out amicably with social services consider using their complaints process. If the response is not satisfactory then take it up with the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.