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MENTAL HEALTH ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1961 - SECT 12



12.(1) A patient may be admitted to a hospital, and there detained for the
period allowed by this section, in pursuance of an application (in this Act
referred to as "an application for admission") made in accordance with
sub-sections (2) and (3).

(2) An application for admission may be made in respect of a patient on the
grounds

(a)that he is suffering from mental illness or that he requires special care;
and

(b)that the mental disorder from which he is suffering is of a nature or
degree which warrants his detention in hospital; and

(c)that it is necessary that he should be so detained in the interests of his
own health or safety or for the protection of other persons.

(3) An application for admission shall be founded on the written
recommendation in the prescribed form of a medical practitioner, which shall
include

(a)a statement that in the opinion of the practitioner the conditions set out
in paragraphs (a) to (c) of sub-section (2) are complied with;

(b)such particulars as may be prescribed of the grounds for that opinion so
far as it relates to the conditions set out in paragraphs (a) and (b) of
sub-section (2); and

(c)a statement of the reasons for that opinion so far as it relates to the
conditions set out in paragraph (c) of sub-section (2), specifying whether
other methods of dealing with the patient are available, and if so why they
are not appropriate.

(4) A patient admitted to hospital in pursuance of
an application for admission may be detained for a period not exceeding
twenty-one days beginning with the day on which he is admitted, but shall not
be detained thereafter unless, before the expiration of that period, he has
become liable to be detained by virtue of any of the following provisions of
this Act.


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© 1961 Crown Copyright

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