Note: This page is about Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHAs) in England. If you live in Wales, see our page on IMHAs (Wales).

This page covers:

• When am I entitled to an IMHA?
• How can an IMHA help me?
• What should my IMHA be able to do?
• How can I access an IMHA?

See our page on terms you need to know about sectioning for a glossary of legal terms used in this page.

When am I entitled to an IMHA?

In England, you have the right to an IMHA if:

• you are detained under the Mental Health Act 1983, except where:
  • you have been detained in an emergency under section 4
  • you are detained under section 5 holding powers
  • you have been taken to a place of safety under section 135 or 136 of the Mental Health Act
• you are “liable to be detained” – this includes:
  • where you are on leave of absence from hospital
  • where you are absent without leave from hospital
  • where a court order or application for admission has been made in relation to you
• you are subject to a community treatment order (CTO)
• you are subject to guardianship
• you are a conditionally discharged restricted patient
• you are a voluntary/informal patient and certain treatments, including neurosurgery, are being considered for you

What is a qualifying patient? If you are eligible for an IMHA, you are referred to as a “qualifying patient” under the Mental Health Act 1983. As a qualifying patient, you have a legal right to support from an IMHA. You can’t, for example, be told that there is no IMHA service in your area, as every local authority has a legal obligation to ensure that there is provision in place. If you are a qualifying patient and you have been denied the support of an IMHA, you should seek legal advice from a mental health or community care solicitor. See Citizens Advice's page on using a solicitor for more information on how to find a solicitor and how to work with one.

For more information about being detained under the Mental Health Act, see our legal pages on the Mental Health Act 1983 and sectioning.

How can an IMHA help me?

An IMHA can help you understand:

• your rights under the Mental Health Act 1983 and why certain decisions have been made
• the rights which other people (such as your nearest relative) have in relation to you under the Mental Health Act 1983
• the parts of the Mental Health Act 1983 which apply to you (such as the basis on which you are detained) and make you eligible for an IMHA
• any conditions or restrictions you are subject to (for example, relating to leave of absence from hospital or a CTO)
• any medical treatment that you are receiving or might be given, including:
  • the reasons for that treatment or proposed treatment
  • the legal basis for providing that treatment
  • the safeguards and other requirements of the Mental Health Act 1983 which would apply to that treatment.

On a practical level, an IMHA can help you:

• exercise your rights under the Mental Health Act 1983
• express your views about your care and treatment
• make a complaint about your care or treatment
• enforce your rights and get what you are entitled to
• make an application to the Mental Health Tribunal
• present your views and support you at a Mental Health Tribunal hearing
• access legal advice
• by representing you and speaking on your behalf – for example at review meetings or hospital managers’ hearings

What should my IMHA be able to do?

Your IMHA should be able to:

• access the ward or unit where you are staying
• meet with you in private, unless you object or it is otherwise inappropriate (for example, if you pose a risk to the IMHA's safety)
• accompany you to meetings with professionals involved in your care and treatment when you ask them to
• see any medical, social care or other records about your detention, treatment and aftercare (an IMHA can only do this with your consent, unless you lack capacity to consent)
• meet and talk to anyone who is professionally involved with your medical treatment

How can I access an IMHA?

You can request support from an IMHA at any time after you become a qualifying patient. You can ask:

• a member of the ward staff
• your responsible clinician
• approved mental health professional (AMHP)

Whilst in hospital, you should have access to a telephone which you can use to contact an IMHA and talk to them in private.

Can other people ask an IMHA to visit me?

The following people can also ask an IMHA to visit you:

• your nearest relative
• an AMHP
• your responsible clinician

It is important to remember that you do not have to see an IMHA if you don’t wish to and that IMHAs support patients, not nearest relatives or carers.

If you lack capacity to decide whether or not to get help from an IMHA, the hospital manager must ask an IMHA to visit you so that they can explain to you directly what help an IMHA can provide. See our legal pages on the Mental Capacity Act 2005 for more information about what lacking capacity means and what your rights are.

 

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This information was published in October 2017 – to be revised in 2020. References are available on request. If you would like to reproduce any of this information see our page on permissions and licensing.