Am I right in thinking the 5(2) holding powers start the moment the doctor furnishes the form H1 to the internal mail system (assuming they’ve timed and dated it) and failure to complete part 2 does not invalidate this at all? In this case part 2 was not signed or dated by anyone but the patient was further detained under section 3 the same day. Thanks.
Yes it is the furnishing of the form that starts the power, not its receipt. There is 1990s Scottish caselaw that says furnishing means committed to an internal post system (which these days might mean emailed etc). Para 18.6 of the MHA Code is a good enough authority for this!
Mat (personal capacity)
Isn’t 18.6 of the Code out of date now we have the electronic version and the time depends on how it is served. I was also led to believe that if Part 2 wasn’t completed by someone authorised to receive it the 5(2) wasn’t valid.