Sectioning

Explains your rights if you're sectioned and detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Mental Health Act Assessments

You must be assessed before you can be sectioned. A team of health professionals will do a Mental Health Act Assessment to decide if you should be sectioned, and which section to use.

You might feel confused, upset or angry about being sectioned. You're not alone, and our information is here to help you.

Who will do my assessment for sectioning?

Before you can be lawfully sectioned, a team of health professionals will carry out a Mental Health Act Assessment. This might happen where you live, in a hospital or in a place of safety.

The team of health professionals should normally include 3 people:

• An approved mental health professional (AMHP). This is usually a social worker, nurse, occupational therapist or psychologist. They carry out duties under the Mental Health Act 1983.
• A registered medical practitioner. This is usually a doctor who knows you, such as your GP.
• A section 12 approved doctor. This is usually a psychiatrist who specialises in working under the Mental Health Act.

What happens in a sectioning assessment?

The people in the team should first explain who they are and why you're having an assessment. They should also carry some identification so you can check who they are.

Generally, this is what should happen in a Mental Health Act Assessment:

• The AMHP interviews you. This should help them decide if keeping you in hospital is the best way of providing the treatment and support you need. The 2 doctors should also agree with this.
• The 2 doctors assess you. The registered medical practitioner and section 12 approved doctor will ask about your mental health. They might also ask to examine you physically. This usually happens on the same day as the AMHP interview. If not, it shouldn't be many days later. The 2 doctors might also examine you at different times.
• They decide whether to section you. The AMHP will decide whether to go ahead with the request to section you. They should give you reasons for the decision and tell you which type of section you're going to be under. They should also tell:
  
  
  • Your nearest relative
  • The 2 doctors who assessed you
  • Your care coordinator, if you have one
  • Your GP, if they were not part of the assessment team

What will they ask me in the assessment?

During an assessment to decide if you'll be sectioned, the team will ask:

• About your mental health and general health. This might include how your mental health problem makes you feel and how you cope with symptoms. They might ask whether your symptoms make it difficult for you to look after yourself.
• If you're acting in any ways that harm your health. This might include self-harming or neglecting yourself, like not eating.
• About your living situation. This might include who supports you where you live, how you cope with daily routines and whether you need to care for anyone you live with.
• About any medication that you're taking. This might include how you're getting on with your medication and whether you're able to take it correctly.
• If your health or safety is at risk because of your mental health. The health professionals will also consider whether others might be at risk if your mental health gets worse.

Do I have any rights during my assessment?

While the team carry out your Mental Health Act Assessment, you should have the following rights:

• You have the right to have someone else with you. You can ask for a friend, family member or advocate to be with you during the assessment.
• You have the right to an interpreter. If your first language is not English and you need an interpreter, ask the AMHP to arrange this.
• You have the right to ask questions and express your views. Despite you having this right, the Mental Health Act also says that the health professionals don't always have to follow your views.
• You have the right to be kept fully informed. The health professionals should always explain what's happening and answer your questions. Health information on your records can only be kept from you if it's likely to cause serious harm to you or someone else.
• You have the right to not answer questions. No one can force you to answer questions or talk to the health professionals. But they can still make decisions about sectioning you, even if you decide not to answer.

The team should also take your individual situation into account. The AMHP might consider age, religion, gender identity, social background and sexual orientation. They should also consider any disabilities that might affect the assessment. For example, if you need a British Sign Language interpreter in the room.

When will I know if I'm getting sectioned?

For most sections, you should know the decision following the assessment within 14 days. If the team decides to put you under section 4, doctors will admit you to hospital within 24 hours.

You might have no time at all between your assessment and going into hospital. Or you might have some time to wait until there's space on a suitable ward. The AMHP should explain what will happen during this time, but generally it depends on:

• Where you're located or normally live
• Your circumstances at the time of your assessment

Usually, the team who do your assessment are responsible for finding you a place in hospital.

How soon will I go into hospital?

If you need to go into hospital as part of the decision, someone will take you there as soon as possible after your assessment. If a suitable bed is available, doctors might admit you immediately.

Before you go in, the AMHP should've arranged for care of anyone else you look after, including children and pets. If nobody else lives with you, the AMHP should arrange to make the place you live secure while you stay in hospital.

You should be able to take things you need. The hospital should have space on the ward for your things, plus storage for anything that you don't need to keep on you.

When you arrive, the hospital managers should check your sectioning papers. Once they confirm that everything has been filled in properly, you're then lawfully detained in hospital.

You can't do anything about this until your section ends or you successfully challenge your section.

Published: January 2026

Next review planned: January 2029

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