An email from an officer this week asked a query around police powers to use s136 Mental Health Act (MHA) when it goes against the advice of mental health professionals. It followed a discussion about a vulnerable person who had been either seen or assessed by community mental health and crisis services a couple of […]

Do Coroners and their Preventing Future Death (PFD) reports emphasise all the legal issues at play, arising from the tragedies behind the inquests?  I’ve explained before what a PFD is, for those who may not be familiar with them, and I’ve also explained how, on occasion, organisations may feel inclined to disagree with a coroner’s […]

A hypothetical query was raised to me last week based on this rough scenario – Someone is detained under s136 MHA and taken to an Emergency Department (ED) because of medical problems in addition to concerns about their mental health.  This hypothetical  person remained in in ED for 18hrs before being deemed “medically fit” (whatever […]