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Section 16. Glossary of Commonly-used Terms in
the Act
Advance Statement: a written, witnessed
document made when the patient is well, setting out how he
or she would prefer to be treated (or not treated) if they
were to become ill in the future. The Tribunal and any
doctor treating the patient must have regard to the advance
statement, they must send the Commission a written record
of the ways they have worked outwith these instructions,
and the reasons why, if the advance statement is not
followed.
Approved Medical Practitioner (
AMP): a medical practitioner
who has been approved under section 22 of the Act by a
NHS Board or by the State Hospitals
Board for Scotland as having special experience in the
diagnosis and treatment of mental disorder. An approved
medical practitioner will often be a consultant
psychiatrist. Only an approved medical practitioner can
grant a short-term detention certificate (
STDC); and at least one of the two
mental health reports forming part of a
CTO application must be provided by an
approved medical practitioner.
Authorised person's warrant/a 'section 292
warrant': authorises a person to enter the
premises of another person where the person entering the
premises has already been given the authority under another
provision of this Act to take the person to another place
or into custody. This could happen, for example, in a
situation where a patient has absconded and a person who
has been authorised under section 303 of the Act to take
that patient into custody or to return them to hospital
requires entry to the premises where the patient has been
found.
Assessment Order: a pre-disposal order
made by the court under Section 52D of the Criminal
Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 authorising hospital
detention for up to 28 days so that the patient's mental
condition may be assessed.
Care Plan: a document prepared by the
patient's responsible medical officer under Section 76 of
the Act after a
CTO has been made. It lays out the forms
of medical treatment and the other services the patient
will be receiving while subject to the
CTO. This document should not be
confused with the 'proposed care plan', which is prepared
under Section 62 of the Act as part of the application for
a
CTO.
Compulsion Order: a mental health disposal
made by the court under Section 57A of the Criminal
Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 authorising compulsory
measures (either hospital or community-based) for a period
of six months, if not otherwise renewed.
Compulsory Treatment Order (
CTO): an order granted by the
Tribunal under Section 64(4) of the Act. It authorises any
of the compulsory measures listed at Section 66(1) for a
period of six months, if not otherwise renewed. The
CTO can be renewed for six months, then
for twelve months thereafter.
Designated Medical Practitioner: this is a
medical practitioner appointed by the Mental Welfare
Commission under Section 233 of the Act. The function of a
designated medical practitioner is to provide a second
medical opinion with respect to certain medical treatments
being given under Part 16 of the Act.
Emergency Detention Certificate (
EDC): a certificate issued
under Section 36(1). Subject to strict criteria, it
authorises the removal of a person to hospital within 72
hours and the detention of that person in hospital for up
to a further 72 hours.
Extension Certificate: a certificate
issued under Section 47(1). It extends a period of
short-term detention by three days to allow for the
preparation of an application for a
CTO.
Forensic Criteria: for a Court to make a
mentally disordered offender subject to a mental health
disposal, it must be satisfied that all of the following
criteria are met:
- The person has a mental disorder
- Medical treatment is available which would be
likely to prevent that disorder worsening or be likely
to alleviate the symptoms or effects of the
disorder
- There would be a significant risk to the person or
to others if treatment were not provided
- The making of the disposal is necessary.
Hospital Direction: a mental health
disposal made by the court under Section 59A of the
Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 which is made in
addition to a sentence of imprisonment. It allows the
person to be detained in hospital for treatment of their
mental disorder and then transferred to prison to complete
their sentence once detention in hospital is no longer
required.
Independent Advocate: a person who enables
the patient to express their views about the decisions
being made about their care and treatment by being a voice
for the patient and encouraging them to speak out for
themselves. An independent advocate is employed by an
advocacy organisation which is not directly managed by the
NHS Board or local authority. All people
with mental disorder have a right to independent advocacy,
not only those subject to compulsory measures.
Interim Compulsion Order: a pre-disposal
order made by the court under Section 53 of the Criminal
Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 authorising hospital
detention for 12 weeks (but can be renewed regularly for up
to one year) so that the court can gather further evidence
on whether the forensic criteria apply.
Interim Compulsory Treatment Order (
CTO): an order granted by the
Tribunal under Section 65(2). It authorises compulsory
measures for a period of up to 28 days at a time.
Mental Health Officer (
MHO): is a social worker who
has received special training in the use of the Mental
Health Act. The
MHO has a number of specific
responsibilities under the Act. The comparable role in
England and Wales is an Approved Social Worker.
MHO's Report: a report under
Section 61 which is prepared by the
MHO as part of the application for a
CTO. It must detail background
information on the person who is the subject of the
application.
Mental Health Report: a report required
under Section 57(4) and prepared by a medical practitioner.
The practitioner must lay out in this report the reasons
why a
CTO is appropriate.
Named Person: a 'named person' is someone
nominated by a person in accordance with the provisions of
the Act to support them and protect their interests. The
named person is entitled to receive certain information
about the person and to act on behalf of the person in
certain circumstances and at certain times set out in the
Act. Section 250 sets out the meaning of 'named
person'.
Nearest Relative: there are occasions in
the act where the nearest relative is given information
about a person coming under the provisions of the Act such
as when a person is removed to a place of safety. Section
254 sets out a list of the people who will be considered in
identifying a person's nearest relative.
Nurse's Holding Power: a power that can be
exercised by nurses 'of a prescribed class' by way of
Section 299 to detain a patient for up to two hours, while
awaiting a medical examination. Where necessary the
detention may be extended by up to one hour while the
examination is carried out.
Place of Safety: Section 300 defines a
place of safety as a hospital, premises which are used to
provide a care home service or any other suitable place
(other than a police station) where the occupier is willing
to temporarily receive a person with mental disorder.
However, if no place of safety is available, a police
officer may remove a person to a police station which
should then be treated as a place of safety for the
purposes of the person's detention.
Proposed Care Plan: a document drawn up
under Section 62 of the Act by the
MHO who is making the application for a
CTO. It contains details of the medical
treatment for mental disorder, the community care services;
and any other forms of care and treatment which it is
proposed to provide to the patient if the
CTO is made. The 'proposed care plan'
should not be confused with the "care plan" which is
prepared under Section 76 of the Act by the patient's
responsible medical officer subsequent to the making of a
CTO.
Removal Order: an order granted by a
sheriff or a justice of the peace under Section 293(1). It
authorises certain persons to enter the premises of an
individual at risk in order to remove them to a place of
safety.
Responsible Medical Officer (
RMO): the
RMO is appointed by the hospital
managers when a patient is detained under the Mental Health
Act in that hospital. The
RMO can be any medical practitioner but
will usually be an
AMP.
Restricted Patient: a patient who has been
made subject to a compulsion order and a restriction order
by the court.
Restriction Order: an order made by the
court under Section 59 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland)
Act 1995 at the time of disposal and is added to a
Compulsion Order. It means that the measures specified in
the Compulsion Order will then be without limit of
time.
Short-term Detention Certificate (
STDC): this is a certificate
issued under Section 44(1). Subject to strict criteria, it
authorises the detention of a person in hospital for a
period of up to 28 days.
Social Circumstances Report: a report
produced under Section 231 of the Act. It must be produced
by the patient's
MHO within 21 days of any of the
following events taking place: the granting of an
STDC; the making of an interim
CTO; of a
CTO; an assessment order; a treatment
order; an interim compulsion order; a compulsion order; a
hospital direction; or a transfer for treatment direction.
However, an
MHO does not need to complete an
SCR where he is satisfied that an
SCR would serve little or no practical
purpose.
State Hospital: The State Hospital
Carstairs provides care and treatment in conditions of
special security for around 240 patients from Scotland and
Northern Ireland with mental disorder who, because of their
dangerous, violent or criminal propensities, cannot be
cared for in any other setting.
Transfer for Treatment Direction: an order
that is made by the Scottish Ministers under Section 136 of
the new Act which allows the transfer of a prisoner to
hospital for treatment of a mental disorder.
Treatment Order: a pre-disposal order made
by the court under Section 52M of the Criminal Procedure
(Scotland) Act 1995 authorising hospital detention for
treatment of a person's mental disorder. The order ceases
at the end of the period for which the person is on remand
or is committed.
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