Mental Health Act Manual 29th ed

The Mental Health Act Manual is the definitive, fully updated guide to the Mental Health Act 1983, described in the Supreme Court as a "respected commentary." Now in its twenty-ninth edition, this vital tool for busy professionals requiring insight and guidance in the complex area of mental health law is essential reading for solicitors, barristers, judges, tribunal members, psychiatrists, approved mental health professionals, and all practitioners working in mental health law.

The Act, together with the Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act 2018, is reproduced alongside the associated Rules and Regulations, all carefully annotated by Richard Jones, ensuring readers have both the primary legislation and expert commentary in a single, authoritative volume.

This new edition incorporates the first tranche of amendments made to the 1983 Act by the Mental Health Act 2025, including:

• Section 35, which amends sections 42 and 73 of the 1983 Act by providing the Secretary of State and the Tribunal with powers to impose conditions that amount to a deprivation of liberty on a restricted patient as part of a conditional discharge
• Section 30(2), which amends section 75 of the 1983 Act relating to applications and references to a Tribunal for conditionally discharged restricted patients
• Section 51, which inserts section 142C into the 1983 Act, extending the remit of the Human Rights Act 1998 to private care providers when providing care and treatment to informal patients and under section 117 of the 1983 Act Combining detailed statutory annotation with practical guidance, the Mental Health Act Manual remains the trusted reference for anyone advising on, applying, or interpreting mental health legislation in England and Wales.

New to this edition:

• A Reference by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland of a devolution issue under paragraph 34 of Schedule 10 to the Northern Ireland Act 1998, a decision of the Supreme Court which overrules the decision in Cheshire West concerning the meaning of a deprivation of liberty.
• FW v Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, a case where s.117 after-care services were not being provided to the patient because of a dispute between the authorities as to who should fund the services.
• Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust v QF where Theis J. granted a declaration that it was lawful for the patient’s treating clinicians to use the power under the inherent jurisdiction to impose a blood transfusion under general anaesthetic on a patient detained under section 3, even if this carried a risk of serious physical harm and death.

  The Father v Worcestershire County Council where the Supreme Court held that if a detained patient has made an application to a Tribunal for his discharge, he is precluded from applying for judicial review of the decision to detain him in conjunction with an application for a writ of habeas corpus.