Part II, Section 23 · Mental Health Act 1983

Contents

23Discharge of patients.#

(1)Subject to the provisions of this section and section 25 below, a patient who is for the time being liable to be detained or subject to guardianship under this Part of this Act shall cease to be so liable or subject if an order in writing discharging him absolutely from detention or guardianship is made in accordance with this section

(1A)Subject to the provisions of this section and section 25 below, a community patient shall cease to be liable to recall under this Part of this Act, and the application for admission for treatment cease to have effect, if an order in writing discharging him from such liability is made in accordance with this section.

(1B) An order under subsection (1) or (1A) above shall be referred to in this Act as “ an order for discharge ”.

(2)An order for discharge may be made in respect of a patient—

(a)where the patient is liable to be detained in a hospital in pursuance of an application for admission for assessment or for treatment by the responsible clinician , by the managers or by the nearest relative of the patient;

(b)where the patient is subject to guardianship, by the responsible clinician , by the responsible local social services authority or by the nearest relative of the patient.

(c)where the patient is a community patient, by the responsible clinician, by the managers of the responsible hospital or by the nearest relative of the patient.

(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3A). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)The powers conferred by this section on any authority trust , board(other than an NHS foundation trust) or body of persons may be exercised subject to subsection (5) below by any three or more members of that authority trust, board or body authorised by them in that behalf or by three or more members of a committee or sub-committee of that authority trust, board or body which has been authorised by them in that behalf.

(5)The reference in subsection (4) above to the members of an authority, trust , board or body or the members of a committee or sub-committee of an authority, trust , board or body,—

(a)in the case of a Local Health Boardor Special Health Authority^note... or a committee or sub-committee of a Local Health Boardor Special Health Authority^note..., is a reference only to the chairman of the authority ^note... or board and such members (of the authority ^note..., board, committee or sub-committee, as the case may be) as are not also officers of the authority ^note... or board, within the meaning of the National Health Service Act 2006 or the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006; and

(6) The powers conferred by this section on any NHS foundation trust may be exercised by any three or more persons authorised by the board of the trust in that behalf each of whom is neither an executive director of the board nor an employee of the trust. .

(b)in the case of a National Health Service trust or a committee or sub-committee of such a trust, is a reference only to the chairman of the trust and such directors or (in the case of a committee or sub-committee) members as are not also employees of the trust.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Defined terms · 82

Show every defined term

absent without leave
has the meaning given to it by section 18 above and related expressions (including expressions relating to a patient's liability to be returned to a hospital or other place) shall be construed accordingly;
additional cost
means the cost of providing or arranging for the provision of the person's preferred accommodation less the amount that the local social services authority would expect to be the usual cost of providing or arranging for the provision of accommodation of that kind.
adult
means a person aged 18 or over.
application for admission for assessment
has the meaning given in section 2 above;
application for admission for treatment
has the meaning given in section 3 above;
approval function
means—
approved clinician
means a person approved by the Secretary of State or another person by virtue of section 12ZA or 12ZB above (in relation to England) or by the Welsh Ministers (in relation to Wales) to act as an approved clinician for the purposes of this Act;
approved mental health professional
has the meaning given in section 114 above;
authorised person
means a person who, for the purposes of the Legal Services Act 2007, is an authorised person in relation to an activity which constitutes the exercise of a right of audience (within the meaning of that Act);
child
means a person aged under 18;
civil prisoner
has the meaning given to it by section 48(2)(c) above;
community patient
has the meaning given in section 17A above;
convey
includes any other expression denoting removal from one place to another.
court
includes a court in Scotland or Northern Ireland, and “enactment” includes an enactment of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly and an Order in Council under Schedule 1 of the Northern Ireland Act 1974.
enactment
includes an enactment of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly and an Order in Council under Schedule 1 of the Northern Ireland Act 1974.
financial year
means—
guardian
includes a special guardian (within the meaning of the Children Act 1989), but does not include a guardian under this Part of this Act.
high security psychiatric services
has the same meaning as in the section 4 of the National Health Service Act 2006 or section 4 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006, • “hospital” means— ((a)) any health service hospital within the meaning of the National Health Service Act 2006 or the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006;
hospital
means any institution for the reception and treatment of people— (a) suffering from mental disorder or other illness, (b) convalescing, or (c) requiring medical rehabilitation;
hospital direction
has the meaning given in section 45A(3)(a) above;
hospital order patient
means a patient who is subject to a hospital order, excluding a patient of a kind mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (2) above;
hospital within the meaning of Part II of this Act
has the meaning given in section 34 above;
illness
includes any injury or disability requiring medical treatment or nursing;
independent advocacy services
means services provided under—
information
includes documents and records.
interim hospital order
has the meaning given in section 38 above;
learning disability
means a state of arrested or incomplete development of the mind which includes significant impairment of intelligence and social functioning.
limitation direction
has the meaning given in section 45A(3)(b) above;
Local Health Board
means a Local Health Board established under section 11 of the National Health Services (Wales) Act 2006;
local social services authority
means— ((a)) an authority in England which is a local authority for the purposes of Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, or ((b)) an authority in Wales which is a local authority for the purposes of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. • “the managers” means— ((a)) in relation to a hospital vested in the Secretary of State for the purposes of his functions under the the National Health Service Act 2006, or in the Welsh Ministers for the purposes of their functions under the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006,, and in relation to any accommodation provided by a local authority and used as a hospital by or on behalf of the Secretary of State under the National Health Service Act 2006, or of the Welsh Ministers under the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006,the Secretary of State where the Secretary is responsible for the administration of the hospital orthe......
medical treatment
includes nursing, psychological intervention and specialist mental health habilitation, rehabilitation and care (but see also subsection (4) below);
mental disorder
has the meaning given in section 1 above (subject to section 86(4));
nearest relative
means the person first described in subsection (1) above who is for the time being surviving, relatives of the whole blood being preferred to relatives of the same description of the half-blood and the elder or eldest of two or more relatives described in any paragraph of that subsection being preferred to the other or others of those relatives, regardless of sex.
nominated judge
means a judge nominated in pursuance of subsection (1) of section 93 above;
nominated officer
means an officer nominated in pursuance of subsection (4) of that section;
nursing care by a registered nurse
means a service provided by a registered nurse involving— other than a service which, having regard to its nature and the circumstances in which it is provided, does not need to be provided by a registered nurse.
parental responsibility
has the same meaning as in the Children Act 1989.
Part 4A certificate
has the meaning given in section 64H below;
patient
has the meaning assigned to it by section 94 above;
patient advocacy and liaison service
means a service of a description prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State, and
place of safety
means residential accommodation provided by a local social services authority under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014 orPart 4 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014..., a hospital as defined by this Act, a police station, an independent hospital or care home for mentally disordered persons or any other suitable place....
prescribed
means prescribed by an order made by the Secretary of State.
property
includes any thing in action, and any interest in real or personal property;
registered care provider
means-- (a) a person registered under Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, (b) a person registered under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000 or Part 1 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016, (c) a person providing— (a) a care service which is registered under section 59 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010, or (b) an independent health care service registered under section 10P of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978, or (d) a person registered under Part 3 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003.
registered establishment
has the meaning given in section 34 above;
registered medical practitioner
means a fully registered person within the meaning of the Medical Act 1983 (whether or not that person holds a licence to practise under that Act).
registered social worker
means a person included in the social worker part... of the register kept under section 80(1) of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016.
regulated establishment
means—
Regulations
means regulations made—
relative
means any of the following persons:—
responsible person
means the managers of the hospital or registered establishment to which the patient is admitted as an in-patient.
restricted patient
means a patient who is subject to a restriction order, limitation directionor restriction direction and this Part of this Act shall, subject to the provisions of this section, have effect in relation to any person who— as it has effect in relation to a restricted patient.
restriction direction
has the meaning given to it by section 49 above;
restriction order
has the meaning given to it by section 41 above;
sentence of imprisonment
includes any sentence or order for detention.
service disciplinary proceedings
means proceedings in respect of a service offence within the meaning of the Armed Forces Act 2006.
Social Work England
means the body corporate established by section 36(1) of the Children and Social Work Act 2017.
Special Health Authority
means a Special Health Authority established under section 28 of the National Health Service Act 2006, or section 22 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006;
stock
includes shares and also any fund, annuity or security transferable in the books kept by any body corporate or unincorporated company or society, or by an instrument of transfer either alone or accompanied by other formalities, and “dividends” shall be construed accordingly.
the applicable day
means—
the appropriate body
means— (a) in relation to a patient who is liable to be detained in a hospital, the managers of the hospital;
the appropriate national authority
means—
the appropriate practitioner
means— (a) in the case of a patient who is subject to the guardianship of a person other than a local social services authority, the nominated medical attendant of the patient;
the appropriate tribunal
has the meaning given by section 66(4) above;
the community treatment period
has the meaning given in section 20A above;
the integrated care board or... Local Health Board
the local social services authority
means the local social services authority —
the managers
means— ((a)) in relation to a hospital vested in the Secretary of State for the purposes of his functions under the the National Health Service Act 2006, or in the Welsh Ministers for the purposes of their functions under the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006,, and in relation to any accommodation provided by a local authority and used as a hospital by or on behalf of the Secretary of State under the National Health Service Act 2006, or of the Welsh Ministers under the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006,the Secretary of State where the Secretary is responsible for the administration of the hospital orthe......
the period of 72 hours
means the period of 72 hours beginning with the time when the patient's detention in hospital by virtue of the notice under section 17E above begins;
the permitted period of detention
means—
the regulatory authority
means— (a) in relation to England, the Care Quality Commission;
the relevant application period
means the relevant period mentioned in paragraph (ca) or (cb), as the case may be, of section 66(2) above.
the relevant conditions
means— (a) in relation to a patient who is liable to be detained in a hospital, the conditions set out in subsection (4) of section 20 above;
the relevant period
means—
the responsible authority
means the Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland or, in relation to a patient who is subject to a restriction order or restriction direction, the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland.
the responsible clinician
means— (a) in relation to a patient liable to be detained by virtue of an application for admission for assessment or an application for admission for treatment, or a community patient, the approved clinician with overall responsibility for the patient's case;
the responsible hospital
has the meaning given in section 17A above;
the responsible medical officer
means—
the responsible person
means—
transfer direction
has the meaning given to it by section 47 above.
transfer for treatment direction
has the meaning given by section 136 of the 2003 Act.
will
includes a codicil.