# Section 37/41 patient ending up on s47/49 **URL:** \ **Category:** Mental Health Act\ **Created:** [15 February 2025 12:15 UTC](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/t/section-37-41-patient-ending-up-on-s47-49/3281 "2025-02-15T12:15:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JoDee](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/a88e57/32.png) [@JoDee](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/u/JoDee)\ **Post date:** [15 February 2025 12:15 UTC](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/t/section-37-41-patient-ending-up-on-s47-49/3281/1 "2025-02-15T12:15:03Z")
On this topic, does it sound right that a patient absconds from a s. 37/41 is put in the health wing of a prison for 2 months, then transferred to a different hospital under a different section 47/49 while awaiting court for "absconding from lawful custody) and benefits drop from circa £100 pw to circa £23 a week./ Meanwhile the judge throws out the charge and doesn’t understand why it was ever brought in front of them. Then a trial where the patient wasn’t fit to plead 7 years ago is reactivated (as patient considered fit to plead (and then not and then again and then not) and patient remains on s. 47/49 in hospital for over a year now. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/user_avatar/forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/jonathan/32/88_2.png) [@Jonathan](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/u/Jonathan)\ **Post date:** [17 February 2025 22:43 UTC](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/t/section-37-41-patient-ending-up-on-s47-49/3281/2 "2025-02-17T22:43:51Z")
> [@JoDee](#): > > absconds from a s. 37/41 is put in the health wing of a prison for 2 months, then transferred to a different hospital under a different section 47/49 while awaiting court for "absconding from lawful custody) and benefits drop from circa £100 pw to circa £23 a week. The chronology is really difficult to follow. But this part is interesting. For ages, convicted prisoners in hospital on s47/49 (and s45A) haven’t received welfare benefits (see [SS v UK 40356/10 [2011] ECHR 107](https://www.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/SS_v_UK_40356/10_(2011)_ECHR_107)). Two things make your patient potentially different: (1) he might have been under s48/49 while on remand, rather than s47/49 as stated above; (2) he was under s37/41 all along and met the criteria for detention under that section while in hospital. ---
**Author:** ![JoDee](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/a88e57/32.png) [@JoDee](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/u/JoDee)\ **Post date:** [21 February 2025 01:29 UTC](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/t/section-37-41-patient-ending-up-on-s47-49/3281/3 "2025-02-21T01:29:28Z")
After I raised a complaint about this the patient was given a back-dated reimbursement of his benefits for 37/41. The absconsion charge was dropped by the judge who said it should never have come to court. ---
**Author:** ![CaptainWalker](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/user_avatar/forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/captainwalker/32/159_2.png) [@CaptainWalker](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/u/CaptainWalker)\ **Post date:** [20 March 2025 12:26 UTC](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/t/section-37-41-patient-ending-up-on-s47-49/3281/4 "2025-03-20T12:26:07Z")
> [@JoDee](#): > > Then a trial where the patient wasn’t fit to plead 7 years ago is reactivated (as patient considered fit to plead (and then not and then again and then not) and patient remains on s. 47/49 in hospital for over a year now. That would be hilarious if it wasn’t so serious. **Tips from lawyers** : Always get the right expert to say whatever you want! Sorry - it happens. > [@JoDee](#): > > benefits drop from circa £100 pw to circa £23 a week I’m not sure which benefits but it sounds reasonable because when held in an ‘institution’ lots of needs are taken care of but…but… - The drop to £23 per week suggests the individual was still considered a hospital patient, not a prisoner, during the 2 months in the health wing. This might indicate a misclassification or delay in updating their status. - The health wing of a prison is not equivalent to a hospital, and the individual’s mental health needs might not have been adequately met during this time. ---
**Author:** ![JoDee](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/a88e57/32.png) [@JoDee](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/u/JoDee)\ **Post date:** [25 April 2025 17:29 UTC](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/t/section-37-41-patient-ending-up-on-s47-49/3281/5 "2025-04-25T17:29:44Z")
Following. I’d like to know how a patient on s.37/41 for over 7 years is suddenly reduced to £23 a week because one psychiatrist thinks he’s now fit to plead (while the trial continues to be delayed now for over a year because the patient isn’t stable). £23 a week (pocket money) still in place. Seems to be a muddle from an absconsion inbetween ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/user_avatar/forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/jonathan/32/88_2.png) [@Jonathan](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/u/Jonathan)\ **Post date:** [5 May 2025 21:45 UTC](https://forum.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/t/section-37-41-patient-ending-up-on-s47-49/3281/6 "2025-05-05T21:45:53Z")
It would be good to clarify the chronology here, especially which sections the patient was under at what times. The £23 rate sounds like pocket money for a s47/49 (or pre-tariff s45A) patient rather than welfare benefits for a s37/41 patient.