Understanding the practicalities of moving someone from MSU to rehab

From a legal perspective, if you had a patient in a medium secure service under a forensic section of the Mental Health Act and wanted to move them to a rehabilitation service that was not based on the medium secure site but elsewhere in the community, what would be involved?

And as a follow up question, if the patient is under a forensic section, would it be possible to go ahead with that move if, for example, the rehabilitation service itself was not a ward but was a self-contained flat in the community with long arm support provided by a clinical team?

Hi Rachel, when you say ‘forensic section’, do you mean that there is a Restriction Order (s.41 or equivalent) in place?

If for example you wanted to move a patient into the community and they were on a s.37/41 MHA (1983). The RC would need to ask for permission from the MoJ with the reasons why.

Due to: SSJ v MM [2018] UKSC 60.

Some hospitals were considering the use of: s.17 (3) leave as well for moving patients into the community for trail leave with the consideration of possibly moving the s.37/41.