What Are The Pros And Cons Of Medical Law

The first authoritative source that has been used for the presentation is a book called ‘Medical Law’. Chapter 9 of the book provides detailed information about the pathways available for the detention of an individual under the Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA 1983). According to the book, section 2 and section 3 of the Act are the main grounds for compulsory detention. The purpose of section 2 is to carry out a detailed assessment on an individual and then to decide whether there is a need for a longer-term detention. Under this section, the patient still retains his or her right to a first-tier tribunal. On the other hand, section 3 of the Act is the statutory justification for the treatment of an individual in a psychiatric hospital. This section lasts for 6 months and is renewable whereas section 2 lasts for 28 days and is non-renewable. This information and also the other procedural steps are evidenced using the MHA 1983. What is more, the pros and cons of each section are evaluated based on numerous case law. However, as too much focus was given onto procedural steps of each section, the arguments about advantages and disadvantages were not very useful which was the only limitation of this source. The points set out in the book are strongly supported using case law and the necessary legislation. Therefore, this source is extremely suitable for setting out the steps of the pathways that are used for detention under the MHA. However, the points made about the advantages and disadvantages of each section of the Act can be improved using academic reports and interviews of individuals in order to strengthen the arguments.

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NHS, ‘Inpatients formally detained in hospitals under the Mental Health Act 1983, and patients subject to supervised community treatment’ (Uses of the Mental Health Act: Annual Statistics, 30 November