Mental Health Act 1983
(as amended)

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Law as at 19/11/11

Part IV contents

56, 57, 58, 58A, 59, 60, 61, 62, 62A, 63, 64

All Parts

I, II, III, IV, 4A, V, VI, VIII, IX, X, Schedules

Overview of the MHA 1983
Plain text for printing
Statute Law Database

For details, see Compulsory treatment.

Changes made by Mental Health Act 2007

• Additional safeguards for ECT introduced in new s58A 3/11/08
• Responsible Clinician/Approved Clinician replaces Responsible Medical Officer 3/11/08

Related cases

Any cases with a hyperlink to this legislation will automatically be added here. There may be other relevant cases without a hyperlink, so please check the mental health case law page.

• B v Croydon Health Authority (1995) Fam 133 — (1) Medical treatment for mental disorder under s63 includes treatment of the symptoms of the disorder (as well as the disorder itself) and includes a range of acts ancillary to the core treatment; (2) on the facts, nasogastric feeding was treatment ancillary to treatment for psychopathic disorder.

• R (B) v Ashworth Hospital Authority (2005) UKHL 20 — A patient detained for treatment under the Mental Health Act 1983 could be treated compulsorily under s 63 of that Act for any disorder from which he suffered, and not only for the particular form of disorder from which he was classified as suffering under the application or order which authorised his detention.

• R (Brady) v Dr Collins (2000) EWHC 639 (Admin) — (1) The hunger strike was a manifestation or symptom of the patient's personality disorder, and the commencement of force-feeding was justified under s63 as medical treatment for mental disorder; even if s63 did not apply, the patient lacked capacity and the doctors had acted in what they lawfully believed was his best interests; (2) The appropriate test when considering challenges to compulsory treatment under s63 was the "super-Wednesbury" test [caution: the law has since changed]

See also

• Reference Guide to the Mental Health Act 1983, 16. Medical treatment for patients in hospital, etc (Part 4) — paragraph 16.15
• Mental Health Act 1983 Code Of Practice for England, 23. Medical treatment under the Act

Law

Treatment not requiring consent

63. The consent of a patient shall not be required for any medical treatment given to him for the mental disorder from which he is suffering[, not being a form of treatment to which section 57, 58 or 58A above applies,] if the treatment is given by or under the direction of the [approved clinician in charge of the treatment].

Amendments