Community treatment orders (CTOs)

Explains what a community treatment order is, how it affects you and how you can change or end it. Applies to England and Wales.

When will a CTO end?

If your CTO comes to an end, this means that you will no longer have conditions you must follow, and you cannot be recalled to hospital.

Your CTO can end in a number of different ways:

Your CTO expires. This is where your CTO expires before it is renewed.
Your CTO is revoked. If you are recalled to hospital and your CTO is revoked, the CTO will end and you will be on the section 3 you started on. This is because your responsible clinician thinks that you meet the criteria to be detained in hospital. (See our page on recall to hospital for more information.)
Your responsible clinician discharges you. Your responsible clinician can end your CTO if the legal reasons for being on it no longer apply.
Apply to the Mental Health Tribunal to be discharged. See our page on the Mental Health Tribunal for more information.
A hospital managers' hearing discharges you. Ask your hospital managers to consider discharging you. You can do this by asking for a meeting with the hospital managers.
Your nearest relative discharges you. A family member called your nearest relative can ask for you to be discharged from your CTO. (See our page on family members for more information.)