The Tribunal does not make orders, only a doctor can do that.
The Tribunal's role is to review the decision made by the Doctor to ensure it meets the criteria set out in the Mental Health Act 1996. Nor does the Tribunal determine what treatment a person should receive for their illness.
The Tribunal does not involve itself in discussions regarding the type of treatment, the way it is administered or the dosage of that treatment. These are all clinical decisions to be made by the treating team and the Tribunal neither has the power under the Act nor the expertise to make these decisions.
The Tribunal can:
Confirm (continue), vary (change the length of time of the Order by either shortening or lengthening it) or revoke (cease) an involuntary order i.e. a CCO, CTO or ATO
If you have been transferred from an approved hospital to the Wilfred Lopes Centre, the Tribunal can determine whether you stay at the Centre and for how long or whether you have to be taken back to the original hospital from which you were transferred.
In making its decisions, the Tribunal applies certain criteria which are contained in the Mental Health Act 1996. The criteria for Continuing Care Orders and Community Treatment Orders are set out below.
Section 24 of the Mental Health Act 1996 sets out the criteria that must be satisfied for the Tribunal to confirm a Continuing Care Order
(a) the person appears to have a mental illness; and
(b) there is, in consequence, a significant risk of harm to the person or others; and
(c) the detention of the person as an involuntary patient is necessary to protect the person or others; and
(d) the approved hospital is properly equipped and staffed for the care or treatment of the person.
Section 40 of the Mental Health Act 1996 sets out the criteria that must be satisfied if the Tribunal is to confirm a Community Treatment Order
(a) the person has a mental illness; and
(b) there is, in consequence, a significant risk of harm to the person or others unless the mental illness is treated; and
(c) the order is necessary to ensure that the illness is properly treated; and
(d) facilities or services are available for the care and treatment of the person.
In addition to these criteria the Tribunal must be satisfied that the order is the least restrictive way in which the person and the community can be protected from the consequences of the illness.
In determining a review of an authorisation for temporary admission the Tribunal will look at the following:
Did the patient breach a condition of his/her CTO, and
Were steps taken by the treating team to get the patient to comply with the condition, and
Were the steps taken reasonable; and
Is their likely to be, or has there been, as a result of the non-compliance, a deterioration in the patients mental state.
