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Section 7. Other Issues Relating to the 2003
Act
Transfers within Scotland
For a 'domestic transfer' (that is, within Scotland)
under a
CTO, Section 124 requires the managers
of the hospital in which the patient is detained to:
- Gain the consent of the managers of the receiving
hospital
- Notify the patient, the named person and the
primary carer at least seven days prior to transfer;
this can be waived if the transfer is urgent, or if the
patient consents to the transfer.
Once the transfer has occurred, managers of the
receiving hospital must notify (write to) the Mental
Welfare Commission within seven days of the date of the
transfer, providing the name and address of the receiving
hospital and whether the seven-day notice was given.
Appeals against transfer under a
CTO occur under Section 125, and Section
126 for the State Hospital.
There are no formal procedures for transferring a
patient under an
EDC, an
STDC or an interim
CTO; consent and prior notification are,
however, advised.
Transfers outwith Scotland
Section 289 allows transfer outwith Scotland under a
community
CTO, but this is likely to be uncommon,
as the patient would be subject to a hospital-based order
on arrival in, for instance, England. The warrant for such
a transfer would be issued by the patient's responsible
medical officer, and not Scottish Ministers.
Section 290 allows cross-border transfer of
hospital-based patients detained under the 2003 Act.
Hospital managers must notify the patient, primary carer,
named person,
MHO, and the Mental Welfare
Commission.
On receipt of a detained patient in a Scottish hospital
from across the border, the responsible medical officer
must notify (write to):
- The managers of their hospital
- The Mental Welfare Commission
- The local authority in which the hospital is
located (enabling designation of a
MHO)
- The Scottish Ministers (for a restricted
patient).
The receiving responsible medical officer should prepare
a care plan for the newly-arrived patient.
Unlawful detention
Section 291 focuses on appeals to the Tribunal for
review of the need for voluntary patients to remain in
hospital. Examples include:
- An informal patient lacking capacity to consent to
admission and not objecting to treatment
- An informal patient being denied free egress (for
example, being sited in a locked ward).
Section 315 states it is an offence to wilfully
ill-treat or neglect a patient.
Absconding
Section 301 deals with patients who abscond while
subject to a
CTO. This includes failing to be
recalled from suspension, and failing to comply with the
residence or change of address requirement.
Section 302 deals with the other sections, including
STDCs,
EDCs, and interim
CTOs.
Both sections make the patient 'liable to be taken into
custody', bearing in mind the principle of least
restrictive alternative. Section 303 allows the
MHO, a police officer, a member of the
hospital staff, or any other person authorised by the
responsible medical officer to take the patient into
custody or return him or her to hospital.
Any period of unauthorised leave does not affect the
expiry date of the
CTO, unless it is within 14 days of the
due date. In this case, another 14 days of detention is
enacted, during which the responsible medical officer must
carry out the mandatory review.
Patients under an
STDC who return from unauthorised leave
within 13 days of the certificate expiry date can face the
specified measures being authorised for another 14
days.
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