Your rights under the Mental Health Act: Section 47

You have been admitted to hospital under section 47 of the Mental Health Act.

This is because two doctors think you need to be in hospital.

Section 47 allows a sentenced prisoner to be moved from prison to hospital for treatment.

You will be kept in hospital for up to six months

You must not leave during this time unless your doctor says you can.

If you try to go you can be stopped.

If you leave you can be brought back.

If your sentence ends while you are in hospital and you still need treatment you will not be allowed to leave.

The doctors may give you treatment; they can give you treatment even if you don’t want them to for 3 months.

After three months they may get another doctor to see you.

You may have to take tablets or medicine which will help to make you better.

Your doctor and nurse will talk to you about any treatment they think you will need.

You can ask the hospital managers to let you leave.

Your nurse will help you do this

The hospital managers will read reports written by your doctor, social worker and nurse.

They will speak with you.

You can ask someone to go to the meeting with you. This could be:
• solicitor
• family member
• friend
• advocate.

You can ask the court to look at your case again.

You will need help from a solicitor.

You can also ask the tribunal to let you leave the hospital.

You can ask this once in the first 6 months you are in hospital.

Your nurse will help you to do this.

The tribunal is made up of three people who do not work for the hospital.

The tribunal will have a meeting with you and the staff who know you.

Before the meeting the members of the tribunal will read reports written by your doctor, social worker and nurse.

The tribunal doctor will talk to you.

You can ask an advocate for help. An advocate is a person not involved in your case who will help you:
• get information
• help you to understand your treatment
• help you tell your doctor or nurse how you are feeling
• talk to other people for you, on the ward or in meetings.

If you would like to speak to an advocate please tell your nurse.

A copy of this leaflet will be given to the person the Mental Health Act says is your nearest relative.

Their name :

If you do not want this person to be sent this leaflet please tell your nurse.

You can get letters while you are in hospital.

You can send letters to anyone except someone who has said they do not want to get letters from you.

Please tell a member of staff.

Freephone 0800 052 0219

or email [email protected]

We’d like to know if this information was:

• Good or bad
• If anything was missing you wanted to know

If there was anything you didn’t understand let a member of your care team know.