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The interface between the Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act: physical health treatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 January 2024

Martin Curtice Open the ORCID record for Martin Curtice [Opens in a new window]
Martin Curtice*
Affiliation:
Consultant in old age psychiatry with Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust at St Michael's Hospital, Warwick, UK. He was awarded a Master of Laws with Distinction in Mental Health Law (LLM) in 2003. His research interests include mental health law, the European Convention on Human Rights and law on assisted dying and end-of-life care. He has been widely published in these areas in national and international journals.
*
Correspondence Martin Curtice. Email: mjrc68@doctors.org.uk
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Summary

The interface between the Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA) and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) can throw up complex issues. This article reviews a Court of Protection case that considered this interface specifically in the context of physical healthcare for a patient detained under the MHA. The court analysis also included consideration of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act 2018 and the concept of residual liberty. The judgment describes principles to be applied when considering whether non-consensual physical health treatment for detained patients could result in a further deprivation of liberty. Discussion of other Court of Protection cases considers the issue of communication during a capacity assessment, the MHA/MCA interface in obstetric cases and what test to apply in determining whether a patient could be detained under the MHA. Such principles and guidance are helpful in clinical practice for healthcare professionals who deal with the MHA/MCA interface.

Keywords

Consent and capacityhuman rightspsychiatry and lawdeprivation of libertyphysical treatment for detained patients
Type
Article
Information
BJPsych Advances , First View , pp. 1 - 9
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Royal College of Psychiatrists

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References

References

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*These cases can be accessed for free at: www.bailii.orgGoogle Scholar
An NHS Trust & Ors v Y & Anor (Rev 1) [2018] UKSC 46.Google Scholar
Ashingdane v United Kingdom (1985) 7 EHRR 528.Google Scholar
Barnet Enfield And Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust & Anor v Mr K & Ors [2023] EWCOP 35.Google Scholar
B v Croydon Health Authority [1995] Fam 133.Google Scholar
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust v DL & Anor [2023] EWCOP 47.Google Scholar
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust & Anor v Joanna [2023] EWCOP 21.Google Scholar
Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) & Anor v R [2020] EWCOP 4.Google Scholar
H, Re (An Adult; Termination) [2023] EWCOP 183.Google Scholar
Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v JS & Anor (Schedule 1A Mental Capacity Act 2005) [2023] EWCOP 33.Google Scholar
Munjaz, R (on the application of) v Ashworth Hospital Authority [2005] UKHL 58.Google Scholar
Munjaz v the United Kingdom [2012] ECHR 1704.Google Scholar
NHS Trust & Ors v FG (Rev 1) [2014] EWCOP 30.Google Scholar
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust v HJ [2023] EWFC 92.Google Scholar
North Bristol NHS Trust v R [2023] EWCOP 5.Google Scholar
North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust & Anor v MB [2023] EWCOP 23.Google Scholar
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust & Anor v RL & Ors [2023] EWCOP 22.Google Scholar
R (TB) v The Combined Court at Stafford [2006] EWHC 1645 (Admin).Google Scholar
Saadi v United Kingdom (2008) 47 EHRR 17.Google Scholar
*These cases can be accessed for free at: www.bailii.orgGoogle Scholar
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