What are my rights in hospital? – for 11-18 year olds

This is a law in England and Wales. It means that you can be sectioned if you have a mental health problem and need treatment in hospital to keep you safe.

This is when you are kept somewhere, like in hospital, even if you haven’t agreed to it. This only happens if you’re very unwell and professionals think you might be a risk to yourself or others. 

In mental health hospitals, you could be detained using a law called the Mental Health Act 1983. This is also called being sectioned.

See our page on being sectioned for more information.

This is when a group of health professionals meet with you to see if you need to go into hospital to get treatment and support for your mental health. If they all agree that you need to go into hospital, you could be sectioned. You may also hear this called an assessment.

This is a specially trained social worker or nurse. They're responsible for arranging Mental Health Act Assessments. They’re also responsible for admitting you to hospital if you’re sectioned.

These people look after you when you're getting treatment and support for a mental health problem. Your care team might include nurses, doctors and therapists.

They may look after you in hospital, at home or support you through Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

This is the doctor in charge of your care if you’re sectioned.

Only your responsible clinician can make certain decisions, such as giving you leave from the ward. They’re also the only person in your care team who can end your section.

See our guide on being sectioned for more information.

When you're unwell, this is when someone is appointed to be your guardian instead of you being sectioned and kept in hospital. Your guardian is someone other than your parent or carer.

Your guardian can help make sure you get support for your mental health outside of hospital. They can also make certain decisions about you. For example, they can decide where you live or make sure you go to important appointments.

You can only be put on a guardianship if you’re 16 or above and it’s essential for your safety or someone else’s.

This is when you’ve been discharged from hospital but you still need to follow certain rules. For example, taking medication or seeing your doctor. If you become unwell or don’t follow these rules, you could be brought back to hospital.

You can only be put on a CTO if you’ve been on certain sections, like 3 or 37.

See our page on being sectioned for information about the different sections.

This means your treatment at a hospital, clinic or other service is ending. You may be discharged because:

• You’ve completed your treatment
• You’re old enough to use a different service
• You’ve asked to leave
• The next part of your treatment needs to continue somewhere else

Your care team should explain what this means, and what will happen if you need care in the future.

This describes the area of the hospital you're staying in. You may also hear it called a unit.

Advocates can help you speak up about things that are important to you. And help make sure your voice is heard.

In some situations, you will have a legal right to have an advocate. This is called statutory advocacy.

Even if you don’t have a right to an advocate, there are other types of advocacy that can help you get your voice heard.

See our page on advocacy for more information.

This is a plan that explains:

• Your mental health problem
• What treatment and support you need
• Who will provide that support

They might also cover what should happen if you're in a mental health crisis.

There are different types of plans, such as a Care Programme Approach (CPA) or Care and Treatment Plan (CTP). Whatever type of plan you have, you should always be given a copy of it.

This is a special court that you can apply to when you’re sectioned. The tribunal decides whether your section can end. They can also give advice about things like hospital leave, hospital transfers and Community Treatment Order (CTO)s.

In England, the tribunal is called the Mental Health Tribunal. In Wales, the tribunal is called the Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales.

When you have a tribunal hearing, three people make the decisions. These include:

• A judge
• A doctor
• Someone with experience and expertise in that area of mental health, usually a social worker or nurse

Hospital managers are responsible for using the Mental Health Act 1983 in hospitals.

If you’re sectioned and you want your section to end, you can ask the hospital managers. They will meet and consider your case. They can decide to end your section even if your main doctor doesn’t agree.

This is a family member who has certain responsibilities for you if you're sectioned or on a Community Treatment Order (CTO).

You nearest relative should usually be told if you’re going to be sectioned. They can also:

• Say no to you being sectioned under a section 3
• Be given information about your treatment
• Ask for your section to end if you're on a section 2 or section 3

You can’t choose who your nearest relative is. The Mental Health Act 1983 sets out a list of people who it can be. It’s usually the person who is highest up on this list:

• Your mum or dad (usually whoever is oldest)
• Your brother or sister (if they’re over 18)
• Your grandparent
• Your uncle or aunt

If you’ve been sectioned under section 3, 37, 47 or 48, you have a legal right to support called section 117 aftercare.

Section 117 support will be personal to you. It depends on what support you need to stop your mental health from getting worse. Your right to support doesn't end until your care team agree that you no longer need that support.

See our page on being sectioned for information about the different sections.

These are services that can support you with your mental health. 

You might see them called different names sometimes, but they offer the same thing:

• In Wales, they're called Specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (SCAMHS).
• In England and Wales, you might also hear them called Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS).

Find out more in our CAMHS information hub.

This is a report completed by your care team when you are discharged from hospital. It should explain any diagnosis you have and summarise the care and treatment you’ve had in hospital.

Confidentiality is about keeping your information private.

It means that when you talk to professionals they shouldn’t tell anyone else what you’ve said.

They will only share what you tell them in certain situations. For example, if you ask them to or if they’re worried that you or someone else could be in danger.

See our page on confidentiality for more information.

Rights generally exist to protect and help us. If you have a right or the rights to something in everyday life, it means you're entitled to have it or do it.

Our rights are often set out in laws, like the Equality Act 2010. Sometimes, rights might be set out in other policies and guidelines.

Some rights can never lawfully be taken away from us. However, sometimes another law can interfere with or restrict our rights. For example, if we are arrested or sectioned.

For more information, see our page on your rights.

Being sectioned means that you’re kept in hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983.

There are different types of sections, that have different rules to keep you safe.

The length of time that you can be kept in hospital depends on which section you are on.

See our page on being sectioned for more information.

An IMHA can help you:

• Understand your rights under the Mental Health Act 1983
• Understand any medical treatment you’re having or might have
• With practical things, like attending meetings or seeing your medical records

See our page on advocacy for more information about IMHAs.

This is a document that sets out how an organisation will act in certain situations.

For example, a transition policy should explain how an organisation will manage you leaving their service.

You may also hear this being called voluntary patient. It means that you, or someone who looks after you, agree for you to stay in hospital to get treatment and support for your mental health.

See our page on being an informal patient for more information.

When you're sectioned, your main doctor might give you permission to have time away from the ward. This is called section 17 leave. But you might just hear this being called leave.

Your doctor might set conditions or rules for your leave, like only being allowed to go out with a parent or carer.

This is a department of social services that looks after children and young people’s social care. They’re run by a local authority. You may also hear them called children and young people’s services.

Child services can:

• Review your care needs
• Support your parents or carers
• Support you if you have a disability or special educational needs
• Help protect you from harm, like domestic abuse

This is the local government for where you live. They provide services such as health services, social services, schools, transport and housing.

Each local government decides how services are run. This means that some services in different areas may have different rules.

This when a court gives a local authority the power to make decisions about a child.

The local authority will normally make decisions with your parents or carers. But if they’re worried about your wellbeing or safety, they can make decisions without them.

This is when you agree to something, like going into hospital or having treatment.

You can’t consent to something unless you are competent to (if you’re 15 or below), or you have capacity (if you’re 16 or above).

Being competent or having capacity means that you understand what you’re consenting to and what might happen if you say yes or no to it.

When you’re in hospital for your mental health, staff can use something called restrictive interventions. These should be used to protect yourself and others. And they should only be used if there is a serious risk of harm.

Restrictive interventions might include:

• Physically holding you to stop you hurting yourself or someone else
• Giving you medication to calm you down quickly
• Taking you away from situations which are upsetting you
• Removing you from other young people on the ward for a long time

When staff use restrictive interventions, they must follow special rules. These include:

• They must only be for the shortest time possible
• You should be kept safe throughout
• You must be treated with respect
• They must be written down in your notes

If you feel that staff aren’t following the rules, you can make a complaint. See our information on understanding complaints and making a complaint.

Or local council. This is the group of people responsible for certain services in your area, like social care and education.

A solicitor is a type of lawyer who can support and represent you and your family in a legal case. Solicitors can help you understand laws related to any problems you have.

For example, you might hire a solicitor if you're making a complaint or struggling to claim something you have a right to.

Some solicitors can cost a lot of money, while others don't charge at all .