Section 2
Section 2 provides the authority for someone to be detained in hospital for up to 28 days for assessment purposes only. The grounds for the application, as stated in the act, are that the person:
(1) is suffering from mental disorder of a nature or degree which warrants the detention of the patient in a hospital for assessment (or for assessment followed by medical treatment) for at least a limited period; and
(2) he ought to be so detained in the interests of his own health or safety or with a view to the protection of other persons.
This section is most often applied when someone is compulsorily admitted to hospital for the first time, or if there has been a considerable gap since the last admission. Application to detain someone under section 2 of the act requires two medical recommendations. One of those recommendations must be made by an approved doctor, which, for the purposes of the act, is defined as a doctor with ‘special experience in the diagnosis or treatment of mental disorder’. This is usually a consultant or senior registrar, whilst the second medical recommendation most often is made by the person’s general practitioner
(GP). Although the act does not prohibit an application for a second section 2 detention immediately after the 28-day period has ended, in practice, this does not occur. The 28-day period is intended solely to provide time to assess the individual’s condition. If continued detention is required, then section 3 is normally applied.
