Mental Health (Patients in the Community) Act 1995

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Schedule 1 to this Act (supplementary provisions about after-care under supervision) shall have effect.

In section 18 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (return of patients absent without leave), for subsection (4) (which provides that a patient may not be taken into custody after the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the first day of his absence without leave) there shall be substituted the following subsection—

For section 21 of that Act (duration of authority for detention and guardianship: special provisions as to patients absent without leave) there shall be substituted the following sections—

In section 22 of that Act (special provisions as to patients sentenced to imprisonment etc.)—

In section 40 of that Act (effect of hospital orders and guardianship orders), after subsection (5) there shall be inserted the following subsection—

In section 61 of that Act (review of treatment), in subsection (1) (report on treatment and patient’s condition to be given to Secretary of State), in paragraph (a) (report to be given when report furnished under section 20(3)), for the words “in respect of the patient under section 20(3) above” there shall be substituted “ under section 20(3) or 21B(2) above renewing the authority for the detention of the patient ”.

In section 66 of that Act (applications to tribunals)—

In section 68 of that Act (duty of managers of hospitals to refer cases to tribunal), in subsection (2) (reference where detention is renewed under section 20 and three years have elapsed since last consideration of case), after “20” there shall be inserted “ or 21B ”.

In Schedule 1 to that Act (application of provisions to patients subject to hospital and guardianship orders), in Part I (patients not subject to special restrictions), in paragraph 1 (provisions applying without modification), for “21,” there shall be substituted “ 21 to 21B, ”.

In section 17 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (leave of absence for patient liable to be detained in a hospital under Part II of that Act), in subsection (5), the words from “; and without prejudice” to the end (which cause a patient on leave of absence to cease to be liable to be so detained six months after the beginning of his absence even though he would not otherwise have by then ceased to be so liable) shall be omitted.

In Schedule 1 to that Act (application of provisions to patients subject to hospital and guardianship orders), in Part II (patients subject to special restrictions), in paragraph 3(c) (modifications of section 17(5)), for the word “six” there shall be substituted “ twelve ”.

Subsections (1) and (2) apply where leave of absence has been granted to a patient before the day on which this section comes into force (as well as where it is granted to a patient after that day).

After section 35 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 there shall be inserted the following sections—

Schedule 2 to this Act (supplementary provisions about community care orders) shall have effect.

In section 28 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 (return of hospital patients absent without leave), for subsection (3) (which provides that a patient may not be taken into custody after the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the first day of his absence without leave) there shall be substituted the following subsection—

In section 30(6) of that Act (right of appeal where authority for detention renewed), after the word “section” where it first occurs there shall be inserted “or section 31B of this Act”.

For section 31 of that Act (duration of authority for detention: special provisions as to patients absent without leave) there shall be substituted the following sections—

In section 32 of that Act (special provisions as to patients sentenced to imprisonment etc: hospital)—

In section 44 of that Act (return of patients subject to guardianship absent without leave), for subsection (2) (which provides that a patient may not be taken into custody after the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the first day of his absence without leave) there shall be substituted the following subsections—

In section 47(6) of that Act (right of appeal where authority for guardianship renewed), after the word “section” where it first occurs there shall be inserted “or section 48B of this Act”.

For section 48 of that Act (duration of authority for guardianship: special provisions as to patients absent without leave) there shall be substituted the following sections—

In section 49 of that Act (special provisions as to patients sentenced to imprisonment etc: guardianship)—

In section 60 of that Act (effect of hospital orders), after subsection (4) there shall be inserted the following subsection—

In section 99 of that Act (review of treatment), in subsection (1) (report on treatment and patient’s condition to be given to Mental Welfare Commission), in paragraph (a) (report to be given when report furnished under section 30), for the words “in respect of the patient under section 30 of this Act” there shall be substituted “under section 30 or 31B of this Act renewing the authority for the detention of the patient”.

In Schedule 2 to that Act (application of Part V to patients subject to hospital or guardianship orders)—

Section 27 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 (leave of absence from hospital) shall be amended in accordance with subsections (2) and (3) below.

In subsection (2), after the word “may” in the second place where it occurs there shall be inserted “, subject to subsection (2A) below,”.

After subsection (2) there shall be inserted the following subsections—

In paragraph 4 of Part II of Schedule 2 to that Act (application of section 27 to hospital orders with restriction orders, etc.), at the end of sub-paragraph (b) there shall be inserted the following sub-paragraph—.

Where, on the day when this section comes into force, a patient has been absent from a hospital for more than 6 months in pursuance of leave of absence granted under section 27 of that Act, the leave may, notwithstanding subsection (3) above, be extended for a single period of not more than 6 months.

This Act may be cited as the Mental Health (Patients in the Community) Act 1995.

This Act shall come into force on 1st April 1996.

The provisions of this Act which amend other enactments have the same extent as the enactments which they amend.