Independent Advocacy and the Mental Health Act:
The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 – the Mental Health Act, or MHA – applies to ‘mental disorders’, a broad category that includes mental illnesses, learning disabilities, dementia, and personality disorders.
The Mental Health Act gives you a right to Independent Advocacy if you are subject to certain compulsory measures under the Act:
- Short-Term Detention, for up to 28 days.
- Compulsory Treatment Order, either Hospital- or Community-based.
Independent Advocacy can support you to appeal a Short-Term Detention, or to contest a Compulsory Treatment Order. We can provide you with a list of experienced Mental Health solicitors, and you can apply for Legal Aid if you require it. Your Advocacy Worker will also support you to speak to your solicitor and to attend the Mental Health Tribunal.
There are other very short-term compulsory measures, which you do not have the right to appeal:
- Nurse’s Holding Power, for up to 2 hours in a hospital until a doctor can examine you.
- Police Power to Remove to a Place of Safety, for up to 24 hours until a doctor can examine you.
- Emergency Detention, for up to 72 hours until you can be assessed to see if a Short-Term Detention is necessary.
Ceartas can support people subject to compulsory measures to make sure their rights are upheld and their views are taken into account, and we can support them to use the measures in the Mental Health Act to safeguard their own welfare.
