Mental Health Review tribunals sit to hear applications for discharge from hospital when hospital managers are unwilling to discharge those who have been detained, back into the community. They have wide powers to decide whether someone is still suffering from a mental illness or not, and whether they should be absolutely or conditionally discharged from hospital. These tribunals provide a safeguard against unjustified detention and guardianship by independent review.
They hear applications in relation to patients detained under most sections (other than section s 4, 5, 135, 136, 35, 36 and 38) and applications against guardianship and supervised discharge. They have no role regarding voluntary patients. They are governed by procedural regulations laid down in the >MHRT Rules 1983, and by the common law rules of procedural fairness.
The outcome of a tribunal hearing can be challenged by application to the High Court for judicial review, or by requiring the tribunal to summarise the issues for determination by the High Court on a point of law only.
The tribunal’s functions are to consider the legality of continuing any order against which an application for review can be made (eg detention, or guardianship), but not whether it was lawful in the first place.
Financial help from the Legal Services Commission is available to patients who apply to a Tribunal, without means testing.