“: 1”

The coroner’s concerns

: 1. Confusion generated by the Department of Health Guide “Mental Health Act 1983 Code of Practice” (“The Code”). The Mental Health Act 1983 is the relevant Act under which persons may be assessed or detained when they are suspected or diagnosed as having one of a number of mental disorders. Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 is a power which allows police officers to remove a person who is in a place to which the public have access to a place of safety. Many mental health facilities have designated “section 136 suites” where the detained person can be taken for assessment. Jamie was in a public place when his psychiatric needs assessed by police were such that he needed to be taken to a place of safety. He was taken to the section 136 suite at the Luton and Dunstable University Hospital. Section 136 (2) MHA 1983 provides that “A person removed to or kept at a place of safety under this section may be detained there for ………. the purpose of enabling him to be examined by a registered medical practitioner and to be interviewed by an approved mental health professional and of making any necessary arrangements for his treatment or care”. “The Code” (s 16.25) states: “The purpose of removing a person to a place of safety in these circumstances is only to enable the person to be examined by a doctor and interviewed by an AMHP, so that the necessary arrangements can be made for the person’s care and treatment. “The Code” (s16.27) states: “The person should be assessed by a doctor and interviewed by an AMHP as soon as possible after the person is brought to the place of safety.” Jamie was never examined by an AMPH only by a lone section 12 approved Bedfordshire and Luton Coroner Service | FAX junior doctor and he was discharged from his s.136. In answer to the question as to why he was not examined by an AMPH s 16.50 of “The Code” was relied on which states: “If a doctor assesses the person and concludes that the person is not suffering from a mental disorder then the person must be discharged, even if not seen by an AMHP.” This was interpreted as meaning that assessment by an AMPH was not a required formality. This was a deeply flawed interpretation but it is possible to see where the ambiguity arises. I was told that this arrangement was “custom and practice” in Bedfordshire and Luton and also in other areas. Whether it was custom and practice or not I consider that the arrangement contravened both the spirit and the letter of the Mental Health Act 1983. It exposed patients to significant risk, including that of self harm or suicide by failing to provide adequate assessment prior to discharge from s. 136 detention. I was told that the position in Bedfordshire and Luton had been regularised by the time of the Inquest but I have no knowledge as to practice in the “other areas” referred to. Bedfordshire and Luton Coroner Service | FAX

An extract. Read the full report, including the circumstances of the death, on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website.

Source

judiciary.uk, Prevention of Future Deaths reports, 2022-0002

Added to Minute Book

8 Oct 2026

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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, judiciary.uk. Open Government Licence v3.0