Responsible Medical Officer

Change made by MHA 2007 from 3/11/08: Responsible Clinician replaces Responsible Medical Officer.

Old definition

The registered medical practitioner, generally a consultant psychiatrist, in charge of the patient's treatment. The full definition was in s34:

"the responsible medical officer" means [(except in the phrase "the community responsible medical officer")]—

(a) in relation to a patient [who is] liable to be detained by virtue of an application for admission for assessment or an application for admission for treatment [or who is to be subject to after-care under supervision after leaving hospital], the registered medical practitioner in charge of the treatment of the patient;

(b) in relation to a patient subject to guardianship, the medical officer authorised by the local social services authority to act (either generally or in any particular case or for any particular purpose) as the responsible medical officer.

"the community responsible medical officer", in relation to a patient subject to after-care under supervision, means the person who, in accordance with section 117(2A)(a) below, is in charge of medical treatment provided for him;

See also

See Ministry of Justice page for some guidance documents for RMOs of restricted patients.

INFORMATION

• Representation
  • The role of the mental health lawyer
  • Ethical and other conduct guidance for lawyers
  • Case preparation
• Civil sections and CTOs
  • Section 2: admission for assessment
  • Section 3: admission for treatment
  • Section 4: emergency admission for assessment
  • Section 5: holding powers
  • Section 7: guardianship
  • Community Treatment Order
• Criminal sections
  • Section 37: hospital order
  • Section 37/41: hospital order with restrictions
  • Conditional discharge resources
  • Sections 47, 48 and 49: transferred prisoners
  • Prison sentences
  • Notional s37
  • Section 45A: hospital direction
  • Section 38: interim hospital order
  • Section 135: Warrant to search for and remove patients
  • Section 136: Mentally disordered persons found in public places
  • Section 35: Remand to hospital for report on accused’s mental condition
  • Section 36: Remand of accused person to hospital for treatment
  • Section 37: guardianship order
  • Section 43: committal by magistrates for restriction order
  • Section 44: committal to hospital under s43
  • Section 51(5): hospital order without conviction
  • Detention under insanity legislation
  • Admission order
• Aftercare
  • Patients who are eligible for aftercare
  • The aftercare duty and its duration
  • The definition of aftercare
  • Charging for aftercare services
  • Which authority pays for aftercare
  • Ordinary residence ...
• Mental Health Tribunal
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  • Preliminary legal points
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    • Overriding objective (MHT)
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• Nearest relative
  • Patients who have a nearest relative
  • Identification of nearest relative
  • Nearest relative powers
    • Nearest relative powers - introduction
    • Nearest relative's right to receive information
    • Right to apply to Tribunal
    • Right to be consulted and to object to s3 admission
    • Right to discharge from guardianship
    • Right to request discharge of s2 or s3 or CTO
    • Dangerousness criterion
  • Changing the nearest relative
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    • Displacement (appointment) by county court
  • Nearest relative - miscellaneous
• Legal Aid
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    • Standard Civil Contract 2014
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  • The scheme
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  • Other pages
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    • Non-means-tested non-tribunal matters
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• Treatment
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• Mental capacity law
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  • Court of Protection Practice Directions
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  • Interface between MHA and MCA
  • Liberty Protection Safeguards

• Representation
• Civil sections and CTOs
• Criminal sections
• Aftercare
• Mental Health Tribunal
• Nearest relative
• Legal Aid
• Treatment
• Mental capacity law

MISCELLANEOUS

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  • Mental disorder and driving
  • Ministry of Justice
  • Miscellaneous external links
  • Murder
  • Newsletters
  • Nuisance or disturbance on hospital premises
  • Power to specify hospital units
  • Public tribunal hearings
  • Repatriation
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  • Smoking
  • Summary of routes to discharge
  • Summary of types of detention
  • Transfer
  • Victims of crime
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  • Voting rights for detained patients
  • Welfare benefits
• Glossary pages
  • Glossary
  • Key sources of information
  • Other glossary pages
    • Adult Social Care
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    • British National Formulary
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    • Home Office Circulars
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    • Learning disability
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    • Part 36
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  • Professionals
    • Appropriate adult
    • Approved Mental Health Professional
    • Approved Social Worker
    • Independent Mental Capacity Advocate service
    • Independent Mental Health Advocate service
    • Responsible Clinician
    • Responsible Medical Officer
    • Second Opinion Appointed Doctor
  • Types of detention
    • All types of detention
    • Summary of the detaining sections
  • Types of discharge
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    • Summary of types of discharge
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  • Types of patient
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    • Technical lifer status
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• Legislation overviews
  • Mental Capacity Act 2005 Overview
  • Mental Health Act 1983 Overview
  • Mental Health Act 2007 in force dates
  • Mental Health Act 2007 Overview
• Organisations
  • Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council
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  • Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales
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  • Civil Contracts Consultative Group
  • Commission for Social Care Inspection
  • Community Care (company)
  • Court of Protection User Group
  • Crown Prosecution Service
  • Department of Health and Social Care
  • Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry
  • European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
  • Family Law Week
  • Fixated Threat Assessment Centre
  • General Medical Council
  • Gov.uk website
  • Health Professions Council
  • Healthcare Commission
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  • House of Lords Select Committee on the Mental Capacity Act 2005
  • HUDOC
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  • Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill
  • Judiciary
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  • Legislation.gov.uk
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  • National Mental Health Development Unit
  • National Policing Improvement Agency
  • Office of Fair Trading
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    • Care Quality Commission
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  • Charities
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    • Inquest (Charity)
    • Mind (Charity)
    • Rethink Mental Illness
    • Social Care Institute for Excellence
• Statistics
  • Statistics - NHS Digital - Detention and CTO
  • Statistics - NHS Digital - DOLS
  • Statistics - NHS Digital - Guardianship
  • Statistics - NHS Digital - Other
  • Statistics - Tribunal
  • Statistics - Legal Aid
  • Statistics - Ministry of Justice
  • Statistics - Miscellaneous
  • Statistics - Welsh Assembly Government
  • Statistics - Ethnicity

• Courts
• Forms
• General information pages
• Glossary pages
  • Glossary
  • Key sources of information
  • Other glossary pages
  • Professionals
    • Appropriate adult
    • Approved Mental Health Professional
    • Approved Social Worker
    • Independent Mental Capacity Advocate service
    • Independent Mental Health Advocate service
    • Responsible Clinician
    • Responsible Medical Officer
    • Second Opinion Appointed Doctor
  • Types of detention
  • Types of discharge
  • Types of patient
• Legislation overviews
• Organisations
• Statistics

ELSEWHERE

• Other jurisdictions
  • Northern Ireland
    • Mental health law in Northern Ireland
    • Review Tribunal (Northern Ireland)
  • Scotland
    • Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland
    • Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland
    • Mental health law in Scotland
  • Southern Ireland
    • Mental health law in Southern Ireland
  • Wales
    • Mental health law in Wales
    • Welsh Assembly emails archive (2010-2012)
• International law
  • The ECHR and mental health law
  • The CRPD and mental health law

• Other jurisdictions
• International law

HISTORICAL

• Coronavirus
  • Coronavirus resources
  • Mental Health Tribunal and coronavirus
  • MHRT for Wales and coronavirus
  • MHT for Scotland and coronavirus
  • Court of Protection and coronavirus
  • Remote assessments and coronavirus
  • Legal Aid and coronavirus
  • Mental capacity and coronavirus
• Changes made by MHA 2007
  • 16- or 17-year-old with capacity cannot be detained on basis of parental consent
  • Abnormally aggressive or seriously irresponsible conduct is only a consideration for learning disability (not personality disorder)
  • Additional safeguards for ECT introduced in new s58A
  • Appropriate treatment test replaces treatability test and applies to all patients under long-term detention
  • Approved Mental Health Professional replaces Approved Social Worker
  • Automatic reference scheme under s68 changed
  • Bournewood gap bridged by Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards inserted into MCA 2005
  • Civil partners are treated as if married when determining nearest relative
  • Conditionally-discharged hospital direction patients can be absolutely discharged by MHRT
  • Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004 applies to unrestricted criminal patients
  • Fundamental principles set out in Act and included in Code of Practice
  • Higher penalties for offences under Act
  • Hospital direction patients can no longer apply to Tribunal during first six months
  • Hospital directions under s45A apply to any mental disorder
  • Legal status of Code of Practice set out in Act
  • Limitation to the exceptions to the duty to instruct IMCA
  • Mental disorder no longer split into separate classifications
  • Minor drafting error in MCA 2005 corrected
  • New cross-border arrangements for leave and transfer
  • New definition of medical treatment
  • New Independent Mental Health Advocate scheme
  • New procedure for renewal of detention
  • New regulations on conflicts of interest
  • New requirements for age-appropriate accommodation for children
  • NHS Foundation Trusts discharge power problem remedied
  • Organisation of Mental Health Review Tribunal changed
  • Patient can apply to displace nearest relative, who can now be displaced on grounds of unsuitability
  • Patients can be transferred between places of safety under s135 and s136
  • Procedure for making of instruments by Welsh Ministers set out
  • Reference to Local Health Boards inserted into Act
  • Responsible Clinician/Approved Clinician replaces Responsible Medical Officer
  • Restriction orders can no longer be time-limited
  • SOAD certificate becomes invalid when patient loses or gains capacity
  • Some exclusions to definition of mental disorder have been removed
  • Supervised Community Treatment replaces Supervised Discharge
  • Transitional provisions until full implementation of MHA 2007
  • Treatment while under SCT is covered by new Part 4A

• Coronavirus
• Changes made by MHA 2007

What links here:

• MHA 1983 s23