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Right of appeal

If an individual does not consider themselves to meet the criteria for compulsory detention in hospital, the individual, or his/her named person can make an application to the Mental Health Tribunal to have the order revoked. Information about how to exercise the right of appeal should be provided by the individual's social worker and nursing staff. This information should be provided at different times during the admission, both verbally and in writing.

We asked the individuals we saw whether they knew about their right of appeal and whether they had exercised this right. Many people were vague about whether this had happened even when notes recorded that information had been given.

Fifty-eight per cent of the people we spoke to said they were aware of their right to appeal.For 40% of these peoples we found no information that would confirm whether the individual had been given, or had understood, their rights. Only 10% of people of the people we visited were in the process of making an appeal.

The experience of compulsory admission can be highly distressing and, combined with the impact of the illness itself, a person's capacity to understand and retain information can be severely limited. To help overcome this difficulty we recommend that individuals are made aware of their rights as soon as possible after admission and are reminded throughout their care and treatment. Staff should record in notes when they have given people the appropriate information. One way of facilitating people's understanding may be the provision of a leaflet that explains their rights in a meaningful way that is appropriate to their needs.Some services for people with a learning disability, for example, have developed an easy read format for their information leaflets.This could be extended to include information on their right of appeal. Additionally, the role of independent advocacy should be fully utilised to ensure that people subject to the 2003 Act are as informed as possible and enabled to understand the appeals process as much as they can.