Skip navigation (access key S)
  • English language
  • Welsh language
  • Urdu language
  • Chinese language
  • Bengali language
  • Punjabi language
  • Gujarati language
  • Hindi language
  • Arabic language
  • Turkish language
Get legal advice now: call 0845 345 4 345

Get free confidential legal advice now

Call 0845 345 4 345

Community Legal Advice:

  • A free, confidential and impartial advices service paid for by legal aid
  • Mon - Fri 9am - 6:30pm
  • Calls from 4p/min - or get us to call you back

Find an adviser

 

22 Mental Health

pdf icon Download Mental Health (PDF File 314kb)

1. Introduction

2. What is the Mental Health Act for?

3. Who decides if I should be detained in hospital?

4. When can I be detained in hospital?

5. When can I be given compulsory treatment?

6. What treatment can I be given?

7. Who can discharge me from hospital?

8. What are my rights in hospital?

9. What if I am unhappy with my care and treatment?

10. Will I get help when I leave hospital?

11. What powers do the police have against people with mental health problems?

12. Mental health and The Human Rights Act

13. Terms used in mental health law

14. Further help

15. About this leaflet

The leaflets in this series give you an outline of your legal rights. They are not a complete guide to the law and are not intended to be a guide to how the law will apply to you or to any specific situation. The leaflets are regularly updated but the law may have changed since this was printed, so information in it may be incorrect or out of date. If you have a problem, you will need to get more information or personal advice to work out the best way to solve it. See 'Further help' for sources of information and advice.

This leaflet is one of a series produced by the Legal Services Commission (LSC). The leaflets are available in a printed format in English and Welsh, and also in Braille and Audio versions. You can print the English and Welsh versions yourself using the PDF (Adobe Acrobat) version.

Adobe PDF image

To find out more about the LSC, visit the www.legalservices.gov.uk website, or contact your regional LSC office. Its address is in the phone book. There are also leaflets about the LSC available at the website or through the LSC leaflet line (phone 0845 3000 343).


Ordering copies of the leaflets

To order English, Welsh, Braille or Audio copies of these leaflets please fill in the order form downloadable in PDF format or contact our distribution agency at:

LSC Leaflets,
Legal Services Commission Publications,
PO Box 386,
Hayes,
Middlesex, UB3 1WY
Tel: 0845 3000 343
Fax: 020 8867 3225
E-mail: LSCLeaflets@ecgroup.uk.com

Queries or comments

You can send us queries or comments about the leaflets through our feedback form or direct them to:

Community Legal Advice
Legal Services Commission
Exchange Tower
2 Harbour Exchange Square
London E14 9GE
Telephone 020 7718 8261

This leaflet is published by the Legal Services Commission (LSC). It was written in association with Camilla Parker, and independent consultant specialising in mental health law and policy.

The leaflets are regularly updated but the law may have changed since they were printed so the information in them may be incorrect or out of date.

Leaflet Version: January 2007