• What information about me will my nearest relative be told?
• When might my nearest relative not be informed or consulted?

What information about me will my nearest relative be told?

Your nearest relative has the right to be told certain information about your mental health. This includes:

• if an application is being made to section you
• the reasons you have been detained in hospital
• your rights under section, community treatment order (CTO) or guardianship
• if you are put on a CTO or guardianship order
• if your section, CTO or guardianship is renewed or changed
• if you are discharged

When might my nearest relative not be informed or consulted?

Your nearest relative may not be informed if:

• it would take a long time to locate them  
• they are unwell
• it will have a negative impact on you
• it is not possible to find out who your nearest relative is

If you are going to be sectioned, staying in hospital or discharged from hospital:

• You have the right to say that you do not want information about your care or treatment to be passed on to your nearest relative. You can do this even if you have not gone to court to replace your nearest relative.
  
  For example, normally the hospital managers must tell your nearest relative when you are due to be discharged, but if you give instructions that they should not tell your nearest relative this or share other information about you, they should respect your wishes.

• However, there must be very good reasons why you don't want your nearest relative to be told information about you. This is because the nearest relative can object to you being put on a section 3, which is an important power that no-one else has, so they could prevent you from being detained. This is balancing your Article 5 and Article 8 rights of the Human Rights Act: see our information on the Human Rights Act 1998.

• It is important that you let your team know if you do not want your nearest relative to be told information about you.

This information was published in January 2017. We will revise it in 2019.