Published on 12, July, 2020
I was sectioned a couple of years ago and every time I appeal to go back home it's always overruled. The reason is because it's thought I can't keep myself safe and require constant support and care. I think it's because I used to get dehydrated a lot and had malnutrition but that was purely a lack of remembering to eat and drink. As a person I've always been safe to myself and others, I used to do a lot of imaginary play, I still do sometimes that's never changed. But it was never dangerous or anything like that.
I hate being in hospital. It's not home and the noise can be really distressing at times. I've been here for a long time but I'm still not used to anything here. I miss my home and I miss the familiarness of smells and possessions. My family still visit which is something but not as often, it's like they have all moved on and I'm just being forgotten. They do at least stick up to me when I appeal to go home again but I wonder if I didn't appeal would they instead for me? I worry they wouldn't.
I always was a bit stressful for them and like a burden.
I'm not sure what to do now. I've used an advocate, tried Citizens Advice and my GP. But it's led nowhere. The nurses say to keep appealing and when I'm ready I'll be ok to go home but it's been almost 4 years and it feels like it's never going to happen.
It is sad to read situations such as this and I suspect there are many more cases like yourself that we do not hear about. NAS do a lot of campaigning to try and end the compulsory detention of autistic people. Your story might help support their campaign.
https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/campaign/mental-health/time-to-act
If you are located in England then the NAS Autism Inpatient Mental Health Casework Service may be able to provide advice and support.
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/inpatient-mental-health-hospitals/autistic-people-and-inpatient-mental-health-hospit/aimh-casework-service
This document contains some ideas on what adjustments you can ask for, to make the sensory environment of the hospital more tolerable for you.
https://www.ndti.org.uk/assets/files/Its-not-rocket-science-V6.pdf
Don't give up. I hope you can the support you need to get home soon.
Hey, Dawn. I'm sorry you're in hospital, that must be tough for you to be going through. I was in a similar boat a while back.
If you are under section 2, you can:
I was under section 2, I couldn't keep myself safe either, I had anorexia amongst other things and it was a hell of a battle to get home again.
There is a really great overview and fact sheet here...
https://www.rethink.org/advice-and-information/rights-restrictions/mental-health-laws/discharge-from-the-mental-health-act/
You might find this useful.
But at the moment there's got to be other stuff making them think you're not safe to be outside the hospital environment. I was fine in myself but I had anorexia and I didn't realise the dangers at the time. They won't let you home again until they're convinced you are safe both physically and mentally.
Hope this helps you. Keep your chin up, it will get better and you will get home again. It can be a long process.
Given the financial state of the NHS, what possible reason could there be in keeping "someone who is healthy, mentally well, and stable " in hospital when there is a shortage of beds for patients who are seriously ill, and a NHS bed costs upwards of £2k per week? More often, a patient is discharged to "care in the community" still with support needs because their bed is required for another patient with a higher level of need.
That sounds pretty racist to me. If it is true that 90% of London is owned by Indians, and you then add in the properties owned by Arabs, Eastern Europeans, Chinese, Americans and all the other nationalities, that implies that less than 5% of properties are owned by British Citizens. Not in my road. Not in my neighbourhood.
we could ban holiday homes and none citisen none resident ownership of homes.... you can bet all the houses would be flooding the market then and collapse them market and everyone who doesnt have a home could afford one then.majority of homes now are owned by foreigners to take rent from our of our country from our people to their country abroad... everyone i spoke to at work always says all property is owned by foreigners, all the landlords they ever had were pakistani or indian. and 90% of all property in london is said to be owned by indians.but yet in other countries such as india there are laws that state foreigners cant own property there.. we need a similar law to make it so our people can own homes here... theres only 20 million homes in the uk to 60 mill population.
Like wise. We have tons of empty buildings owners won't rent out because they are holding out for higher rent. Personally I'd give councils the right to house the homeless in them on a temporary basis without the owners concent.
Involuntary homelessness appals me.
It's the modern equivalent of the overseers whip.
sectioning is distinct from capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Many people say chalenging a capacity decission is actually easyer. sectioning is provided for by the Mental Health Act 1983. It has a difrent set of rules and procedures.
DeSpereaux
Currently there are social workers, psychologists, nurses and other health professions (apart from medical practitioners) who are trained as Best Interest Assessors - known as Approved Mental Capacity Professionals under the new legislation. The input of a AMCP is usually required where a care provider is seeking a Deprivation of Liberty Authority. The practicalities are a bit fuzzy at the moment as the latest legislation is being implemented piecemeal.
The fact that the patient lacks capacity means that there will be a named consultee, either a relative or an independent worker appointed by the local authority or the Court of Protection. There are also powers for the Donees of Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare. The guidance is a very large, very thick book about the size of an old telephone directory which I can't easily summarise here! The consultee for the purposes of the Mental Capacity might not be the "nearest relative" for the purpose of MHA83
It should be noted that "sectioning" (as per the original post) applies to sections of the Mental Health Act 1983 as amended. Persons sectioned under the MHA83 may have the capacity to make many specific decisions, and detention under the MHA83 disapplies parts of the Mental Capacity Act. Similarly, deprivation of liberty authorised under the MCA is not the same as "sectioning" and compulsory treatment for a mental disorder will probably require a s3 MHA83.
There should be no shortage of BIA/AMCPs nor of Approved Mental Health Professionals - every authority should have sufficient trained staff, or employ Independent Social Workers as contractors. There would almost certainly be far more than five in any shire authority.
Regarding "unwise acts " the person must have mental capacity - the relevant caselaw was that a person who makes what the professionals deem to be an unwise decision cannot, by virtue of that decision alone, be regarded as not having capacity - this means that neither the Common Law doctrine of necessity nor the MCA can be used to overrule the rights of a capacitous person. Of course, if the patient were to lose consciousness they could be treated under the Common Law unless there were a prior direction or a donee of a POA intervened.
Although I am qualified as a BIA/AMCP I am finding it hard to keep up with changes in the legislation because this is not my day-to-day area of practice ... I need to refer to the guidance and sometimes take legal advice. Where individual clients / patients are concerned, the recommendation is always the same ... seek out a lawyer or specialist who practice this area of law and get specific advice.
Usual disclaimer applies - nothing herein should be considered as legal advice and you should seek qualified professional advice where appropriate.
There is a lot of misunderstanding amongst the whole community on the use and meaning of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. But it is important to understand that one has the right to pursue an unwise course of action if they may.
The care providers are obligated to pursue the less restrictive option in caring for the patient; if a patient wishes to go the toilet or get out of bed, the care-provider is obligated to facilitate them to that end (within reason).
Care providers are obligated to encourage the patients understanding of the care they are receiving and get an understanding of their wishes, and have their close-carers concerns heard, even if it is deemed unwise, they must not use a more restrictive method than is necessary. So slip/trips/falls policy or the workflow of the staff is not a reasonable excuse to restrict what a patient wishes to do (or what their close-carer insists that the patient wants to do).
You can get a second opinion and care provider are obligated to allow pursuit of a second opinion. There should be a mental capacity act specialist that you could seek out, there likely will not be, because it isn’t really feasible as a requirement. I would be surprised if there were more than five in any given shire.
I think the issues would mostly be land and planning issues. still it's a nice thought, setting up housing i mean.
A matrrix of containers can be easily and cheaply set up to provide F.O.C housing for the homeless.
If I had the money I'd set up several and test out a few social regimes, using the residents health happiness and wealth as metrics to find out what works best for people.
Ethically speaking homelessness is often a choice made because people cannot stand living in this society, often expressed as "they can't pay their bills" which is how things are set up to go for the "non-conformists" of which the mentally ill are a subset.
I Sperg said:Its my understanding that sectioning is a safety thing, either done to protect the sectioned individual or sometimes to protect the general public.
That is only one of the reasons:
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/legal-rights/sectioning/about-sectioning/
I Sperg said:May we ask what you did in order to earn your 4 years in a hosipital?
That's a bit of an assumption.
My nephew was sectioned because he became psychotic - he didn't 'do' anything...
I'm not quite sure why you are in hospital, do you have an eating disorder and receiving treatment or for Autism which I presume you have or another condition which you haven't stated.
I had treatment for anorexia once and was sent to a private hospital and was greeted by people who told me they had been in there for 3-5 years at least. They had mixed presentations. These sort of long term stays was happening in private hospitals and with some Autistics as well.
The general advice now is not to keep Autistics in long term admissions if it can be helped. I hope you get the care that you need. If you have Autism I would get some advice looking at how useful it is to keep an Autistic in hospital for so long.
committees.parliament.uk/.../
Its my understanding that sectioning is a safety thing, either done to protect the sectioned individual or sometimes to protect the general public.
May we ask what you did in order to earn your 4 years in a hosipital?
actually the police know they are sleeping rough there. It's a fairly major thourough fair between a train station and the city center. There is a soup kitchen van that parks outside every week. A homeless person was even murdered there not so long ago (at which point the police did move on the homeless people temporeraly to tape the area off). I think to some degree the police prefer having them there instead of pitiching their tents up the road in the doorways of empty shop units, which has been known to happen.
you would have to appeal to the first tier tribunal. You can do this once every 6 months.
You use this form.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-t110-application-to-first-tier-tribunal-mental-health-mental-health-act-1983-as-amended
You can fill it out online and send by email.
No idea, sorry. That girl tried to get sectioned but never managed to do so. Mental healthcare is an expensive luxury, not an human right. If you are too mentally ill to work, your only choices are the gutter, the jail, or the grave.
ah funny you say thats the governments policy.... its actually much worse than that.... because if the government knew they were sleeping rough there theyd send the police in to disperse them and fine them and confiscate their tents and then warn them they will be arrested if they carry on sleeping rough lol
dont they also review it every few days then months... and after that if they keep you indefinitely then there is a absolute threat or risk they believe the person would be in if they let them go?