Mental Health Act Commission

A quango set up under s121 Mental Health Act 1983. Replaced by the Care Quality Commission on 1/4/09 so everything on this page is out of date.

Contents

• 1 About the MHAC
• 2 Biennial Reports
• 3 Guidance notes
• 4 Forms

About the MHAC

The MHAC described itself as follows:

The Mental Health Act Commission was established in 1983 and consists of some 100 members (Commissioners), including laypersons, lawyers, doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists and other specialists.

Its functions are:

• To keep under review the operation of the Mental Health act 1983 in respect of patients liable to be detained under the Act.
• To visit and interview, in private, patients detained under the Act in hospitals and mental nursing homes.
• To investigate complaints which fall within the Commission's remit.
• To review decisions to withhold the mail of patients detained in the High Security Hospitals.
• To appoint medical practitioners and others to give second opinions in cases where this is required by the Act.
• To publish and lay before Parliament a report every 2 years.
• To monitor the implementation of the Code of Practice and propose amendments to Ministers.

In addition, the Commission is encouraged by the Secretary of State to advise on policy matters that fall within the Commission's remit.

Biennial Reports

• MHAC, 'First Biennial Report 1983-85' (1985)
• 2nd: 1985-1987 (wanting)
• 3rd: 1987-1989 (wanting)
• 4th: 1989-1991 (wanting)
• MHAC, 'Fifth Biennial Report 1991-93' (1993)
• MHAC, 'Sixth biennial report 1993-95' (1995)
• MHAC, 'Seventh biennial report 1995-97' (1997)
• MHAC, 'Eighth biennial report 1997-99' (1999)
• MHAC, 'Ninth biennial report 1999-2001' (2001)
• MHAC, 'Tenth biennial report 2001-03: Placed amongst strangers' (2003)
• MHAC, 'Eleventh biennial report 2003-05: In place of fear' (2005)
• MHAC, 'Twelfth biennial report 2005-07: Risk, rights, recovery' (2007)
• MHAC, 'Thirteenth biennial report 2007-09: Coercion and consent' (2009)

Guidance notes

On 1/11/08 the MHAC issued updated guidance notes, which were (at one point) available on the CQC website. They took effect on 3/11/08. On 5/11/08 they published guidance notes relevant to Wales, with the same titles.

• The admission of children and adolescents to adult mental health wards and the duty to provide age-appropriate services
• The identification and rights of the “Nearest Relative” under the Mental Health Act 1983
• Nearest Relatives of non-UK residents
• CQC, 'Guidance for SOADs: Consent to treatment and the SOAD role under the revised Mental Health Act' (October 2008)
• Guidance for SOADs: On giving reasons when certifying that treatment is appropriate
• CQC, 'Guidance for clinicians and SOADs: the imposition of medical treatment in the absence of consent' (October 2008)
• The administration of Clozapine and other treatments requiring blood tests under the provisions of the Mental Health Act
• Consultation with the ‘Other’ Professional in Second Opinions under the Mental Health Act
• CQC, 'Guidance note for Commissioners on consent to treatment and the Mental Health Act 1983' (September 2009)
• Nurses, the administration of medicine for mental disorder and the Mental Health Act 1983
• Guidance for Commissioners: The RCPsych consensus statement on high-dose antipsychotic medication
• The treatment of anorexia nervosa under the Mental Health Act 1983
• The Mental Health Act in Independent Hospitals
• Use of the Mental Health Act 1983 in general hospitals without a psychiatric unit
• Guidance for Commissioners: The revised Code of Practice: points to note for MHAC work
• Scrutinising and rectifying statutory forms for admission under the Mental Health Act 1983
• Leave of absence and transfer under the Mental Health Act 1983
• Voting rights for detained patients

The following guidance was issued in January 2009:

• Second Opinions for Supervised Community Treatment patients who are refusing medication for mental disorder
• Treatment under emergency power for Supervised Community Treatment patients who are awaiting Second Opinions

Forms

In October 2008 the MHAC published the following new/updated forms:

• MHAC1 - Review of Treatment Form (revised 30/10/08)
• MHAC2 - SOAD Report Form (revised 29/10/08)
• Blank Treatment Plan - FOR SCT Patients
• Blank Treatment Plan - NON SCT Patients

The following forms were also available:

• MHAC 4 - Visit undertaken following the Death of a detained patient
• MHAC 5 - Post Inquest Report
• MHAC 3 - Death of a Detained Patient information form
• Vulnerable Patient Groups - Children and Minors

• Representation
  • The role of the mental health lawyer
  • Ethical and other conduct guidance for lawyers
  • Case preparation
  • 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
  • Section 37: hospital order
  • Section 37/41: hospital order with restrictions
  • Sections 47, 48 and 49: transferred prisoners
  • 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
  • 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 .
  • Tribunal Rules
  • Preliminary legal points
    • Standard and burden of proof (MHT)
    • Delay (MHT)
    • Re-sectioning after tribunal discharge
    • Eligibility periods
    • Change in status during tribunal proceedings
    • Overriding objective (MHT)
    • Applications (MHT)
    • Parties (MHT)
    • Representatives (MHT)
    • Notice of proceedings, and listing (MHT)
    • Medical examination (MHT)
    • Remote hearings (MHT)
    • Disposal without hearing (MHT)
    • Hearing in a party’s absence (MHT)
    • Decisions by a single judge (MHT)
    • Reports (MHT)
    • Evidence (MHT)
    • Non-disclosure of documents and information (MHT)
    • Directions (MHT)
    • Adjournment and postponement (MHT)
    • Withdrawal (MHT)
    • Reinstatement (MHT)
    • Decisions (MHT)
    • Public hearing (MHT)
    • Wasted costs (MHT)
    • 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
      • Delegation by existing nearest relative
      • Displacement (appointment) by county court
      • Contracts
        • Standard Civil Contract 2014
        • Standard Civil Contract 2018
        • Standard Civil Contract 2024
        • Certificated (licenced) work
        • Controlled work
        • Merits tests
        • Means testing
        • The mental health fee scheme
        • Hourly rates and fixed fees
        • Escape fee cases
        • Legal Aid for appeals
        • Disbursements, including independent experts
        • Peer review
        • Transaction criteria
        • Legal Aid in the Court of Protection
        • Legal Aid Agency Liverpool Office
        • Legal Aid forms
        • Legal Aid guidance documents
        • Legal Aid information archive
        • Legal Aid News archive
        • Non-means-tested non-tribunal matters
        • Residence test
        • The ECHR and mental health law
        • The CRPD and mental health law
        • 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 resources
          • Court of Protection and coronavirus
          • Legal Aid and coronavirus
          • Mental capacity and coronavirus
          • Mental Health Tribunal and coronavirus
          • MHRT for Wales and coronavirus
          • MHT for Scotland and coronavirus
          • Remote assessments and coronavirus
          • Court of Protection
          • Hospital Managers' Hearing
          • House of Lords
          • Inquests
          • Mental Health Review Tribunal
          • Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales
          • Mental Health Tribunal
          • Parole Board
          • Upper Tribunal
          • Court of Protection forms
          • Judicial review forms
          • Mental Health Act 1983 Statutory Forms
          • Tribunal forms
          • Children and mental health law
          • Civil restraint order
          • Complaints procedure
          • Consultations
          • Electronic signatures
          • Euthanasia and assisted suicide
          • Ian Brady
          • Independent investigations
          • Jury service
          • Leave of absence
          • 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
          • Reports to Prevent Future Deaths
          • Smoking
          • Summary of routes to discharge
          • Summary of types of detention
          • Transfer
          • Victims of crime
          • Victims' rights to make representations and receive information
          • Voting rights for detained patients
          • Welfare benefits
          • Glossary
          • Key sources of information
          • Other glossary pages
            • Adult Social Care
            • Advance decision
            • Application of MHA 1983 to Armed Forces
            • Barring order
            • Brief glossary
            • British National Formulary
            • Care Programme Approach
            • Compulsory treatment
            • Displacement proceedings
            • Enduring Power of Attorney
            • Extra-statutory recommendations
            • Guardianship
            • High secure hospital
            • Home Office Circulars
            • IPP
            • Judicial review
            • Judicial review pre-action protocol
            • Lasting Power of Attorney
            • Learning disability
            • Mental disorder
            • Part 36
            • Prison law
            • Recall
            • Recommendations
            • Responsible authority
            • Sexual Harm Prevention Order
            • 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
            • All types of detention
            • Summary of the detaining sections
            • Deferred discharge
            • Deferred discharge of unrestricted patient
            • Full discharge of unrestricted patient
            • Summary of types of discharge
            • Supervised discharge
            • Restricted patient
            • Technical lifer status
            • Unrestricted patient
            • Mental Health Act 2007 Overview
            • Mental Health Act 1983 Overview
            • Mental Capacity Act 2005 Overview
            • Mental Health Act 2007 in force dates
            • Capacity to consent to sexual relations
            • Court of Protection Practice Directions
            • Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
            • Interface between MHA and MCA
            • Liberty Protection Safeguards
            • Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council
            • All Party Parliamentary Group on Legal Aid
            • Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales
            • Care Services Improvement Partnership
            • 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
            • Healthcare Inspectorate Wales
            • House of Lords Select Committee on the Mental Capacity Act 2005
            • HUDOC
            • International Classification of Diseases (ICD)
            • International Journal of Mental Health and Capacity Law
            • Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill
            • Judiciary
            • Law Commission
            • Legal Ombudsman
            • Legislation.gov.uk
            • MAPPA
            • Mental Health Act Commission
            • Mental Health Lawyers Association
            • National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health
            • National Mental Health Development Unit
            • National Policing Improvement Agency
            • Office of Fair Trading
            • Office of Public Sector Information
            • Office of the Public Guardian
            • Official Solicitor
            • PPMHG
            • Royal College of Psychiatrists
            • Solicitors Regulation Authority
            • Statute Law Database
            • Tribunal Procedure Committee
            • Venice Commission
            • Care Quality Commission pages
              • Care Quality Commission
              • CQC - DOLS reports
              • CQC - MHA reports
              • CQC - Other links
              • CQC - State of Care reports
              • CQC - Surveys
              • Bailii
              • Incorporated Council of Law Reporting
              • Inquest (Charity)
              • Mind (Charity)
              • Rethink Mental Illness
              • Social Care Institute for Excellence
              • Northern Ireland
                • Mental health law in Northern Ireland
                • Review Tribunal (Northern Ireland)
                • Mental health law in Scotland
                • Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland
                • Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland
                • Mental health law in Southern Ireland
                • Welsh Assembly emails archive (2010-2012)
                • Mental health law in Wales
                • Psychiatric information
                • Psychiatric medication
                • Definition of mental disorder
                • Covert administration of medication
                • Dual diagnosis
                • Insight
                • Psychopathic disorder
                • Treatability test
                • Improving Access to Psychological Therapies
                • Consent to treatment provisions
                • Statistics - Ethnicity
                • Statistics - Ministry of Justice
                • Statistics - Miscellaneous
                • Statistics - NHS Digital - Detention and CTO
                • Statistics - NHS Digital - DOLS
                • Statistics - NHS Digital - Guardianship
                • Statistics - NHS Digital - Other
                • Statistics - Tribunal
                • Statistics - Welsh Assembly Government
                • Law Society
                • Law Society mental capacity (welfare) accreditation scheme
                • Law Society mental health accreditation scheme
                • Law Society mental health accreditation scheme - CPD requirements
                • Law Society mental health accreditation scheme - guidance documents
                • CPD scheme
                • Email updates
                • Online forum
                • Subscriptions

                
                What links here:

                • MHAC, 'First Biennial Report 1983-85' (1985)
                • MHAC, 'Fifth Biennial Report 1991-93' (1993)
                • MHAC, 'Sixth biennial report 1993-95' (1995)
                • MHAC, 'Seventh biennial report 1995-97' (1997)
                • MHAC, 'Eighth biennial report 1997-99' (1999)
                • MHAC, 'Ninth biennial report 1999-2001' (2001)
                • MHAC, 'Tenth biennial report 2001-03: Placed amongst strangers' (2003)
                • MHAC, 'Eleventh biennial report 2003-05: In place of fear' (2005)
                • MHAC, 'Twelfth biennial report 2005-07: Risk, rights, recovery' (2007)
                • MHAC, 'Thirteenth biennial report 2007-09: Coercion and consent' (2009)
                • CQC, 'Guidance for SOADs: Consent to treatment and the SOAD role under the revised Mental Health Act' (October 2008)
                • CQC, 'Guidance for clinicians and SOADs: the imposition of medical treatment in the absence of consent' (October 2008)
                • CQC, 'Guidance note for Commissioners on consent to treatment and the Mental Health Act 1983' (September 2009)