Section 64 of the Mental Health Act 1996 requires that hearings before the Mental Health Tribunal are closed to members of the public unless the Tribunal decides otherwise.
This usually means that those present at a hearing are only those who have been invited to attend as interested parties, for example the treating doctor, nurses, persons responsible.
The Act also has a number of other provisions requiring that the patient's mental health records are kept confidential, and these provisions apply to the Tribunal's processes.
