What happens when you get sectioned?

Under the Mental Health Act 1983 and amendments to this in the Mental Health Act 2007, people can be lawfully detained in hospital and given compulsory treatment because of a mental health condition. This is called being sectioned. That is not to say just having a mental illness can force you into hospital, you must meet certain criteria that make it necessary for your own wellbeing. What happens when you get sectioned?

Being sectioned is an absolute last resort and people who are sectioned have usually explored other avenues with their GP already. For example, somebody with anorexia might have had years of treatment but is at the point where if they don’t receive urgent intervention they are at a very high risk of death. 

What are the sections?

To be sectioned doesn’t mean the same thing for everybody. As the name suggests, there are different sections each case falls into. The term ‘section’ means a section of the Mental Health Act that you can be lawfully detained under because you fit that criteria. 

Why can someone be sectioned?

To be sectioned, you must either:
•    Have a mental health condition severe enough that doctors feel you must be urgently assessed and treated in hospital, or…
•    Your mental health condition is putting either yourself or others at risk, making it essential that you be detained and receive treatment.

If you are so unwell that you are unfit to consent to an assessment or treatment, this can also be a criterion to be sectioned.

How do you get sectioned?

The first step to being sectioned is for somebody involved in your wellbeing or safety, such as a parent, GP, counsellor or police officer, to alert social services that you are unwell. If the case is urgent and involves you or somebody else being in danger, for example if you are talking about suicide, then social services will send three medical professionals to your home to assess you. These will be two doctors and an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP).

The coronavirus pandemic brought about a change in these regulations due to the pressure on the NHS. Under the Coronavirus Act 2020 you could be sectioned by an AMHP and just one doctor. This act was withdrawn in October 2023.

Sometimes people will be in hospital when they are assessed. This could be because of something related to their mental health condition, for example they have harmed themselves or collapsed due to not eating.

To be legally sectioned, at least two of these medical practitioners must write a statement explaining how they feel you comply with the criteria above and a recommendation for you to be sectioned. This rule is slightly different if it’s an emergency that you be detained, in which case a doctor, police officer or magistrate can detain you, depending on where you are when the emergency arises.

Where do you go when you get sectioned?

You will be taken to a hospital or other mental health facility. If you are already in hospital, you will be transferred to the psychiatric unit or an appropriate mental health facility. Once there, you won’t be allowed to leave until doctors are happy that it is safe for you to go home. You might be granted permission for temporary leave, such as a weekend at home.

How long are you there?

It states in the Mental Health Act that you cannot be detained for more than 28 days from when you arrive without an assessment. This is known as the assessment section. If you have been detained in the case of an emergency section, you can only be held for 72 hours without assessment. During the pandemic, emergency regulations to help the NHS cope mean that you can be held longer without assessment, up to 120 hours.

Once you are assessed you come under the treatment section, which can last up to six months at a time. However, at the end of the six months your doctor may decide to renew the section so you could be in hospital for much longer. Each section you may be detained under has different rules about how long you can be held in hospital and some have had their limits removed under the current emergency regulations.

What happens once you’re better?

Once you are regarded by doctors as being well enough to lift the section, you may be transferred to another part of the hospital, a specialised clinic (both of these would be as a volunteer rather than being forcibly detained) or allowed to go home. You may be given medication or need to attend regular counselling sessions. You may receive mental health care at home if doctors feel it is necessary or if you relapse.