The High Court ordered the release of a woman identified as Ms K from the Department of Psychiatry in Drogheda after finding her detention unlawful. Ms Justice Niamh Hyland ruled on 12 April 2022 that the statutory conditions for detaining her had not been met and that the Form 13 used to authorise her detention was invalid.
The case was an inquiry under Article 40.4 of the Constitution, brought by Ms K, who was detained under section 24 of the Mental Health Act 2001. The court heard the application on 8 April. The judge’s ruling came after the Mental Health Tribunal had revoked an earlier admission order on 1 April because of a defect in the application form. The Tribunal had nevertheless concluded, based on a psychiatrist’s evidence, that Ms K was then suffering from a mental disorder.
After the Tribunal’s decision, Ms K said she wanted to leave the approved centre. A staff nurse detained her under section 23 at 2.15pm, according to the evidence before the court. The hospital argued that staff were treating her during the period between the Tribunal’s decision and her detention under section 23. The judge found that the relevant period was about 22 minutes and that the brief conversation with the nurse, including advice about a planned discharge, did not amount to treatment. She said Ms K therefore did not meet the statutory requirement of being a voluntary patient before sections 23 and 24 could be used to detain her.
The judge also found that the Form 13 was not a valid basis for detention. Two versions of the form differed over whether a nurse or psychiatrist had initiated the section 23 hold. The hospital’s affidavits said the form had been corrected on 4 April, but the judge held that the changes were not effective. She found that the original form inaccurately identified who had detained Ms K and lacked a required signature. An affidavit could not replace the required accurate statutory form, she ruled.
The court also criticised the hospital for not providing Ms K’s solicitor with the form when requested on 2 April, and for not explaining that it had been amended. The judge said this obstructed the solicitor’s ability to assess the legal basis of the detention.
The release order was made on both grounds: Ms K was not receiving treatment before the section 23 detention, and there was no valid Admission Order before the court. The judge noted that the psychiatrists involved had considered Ms K to be suffering from a mental disorder. She directed that the solicitor explain that Ms K was free to leave, while also conveying the hospital’s earlier advice that she consider staying voluntarily.