Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016

The condition for detention

12.—(1) This paragraph applies for the purposes of paragraphs 11, 13 and 14.

(2) The condition referred to in those paragraphs is that—

(a) failure to detain P in the hospital in circumstances amounting to a deprivation of liberty, for the purposes of further care, would create a risk of serious harm to P or of serious physical harm to other persons;

(b) detaining P in the hospital in circumstances amounting to a deprivation of liberty, for those purposes, is a proportionate response to—

(i) the likelihood of harm to P, or of physical harm to other persons; and

(ii) the seriousness of the harm concerned;

(c) P lacks capacity in relation to whether he or she should be so detained; and

(d) it would be in P’s best interests for him or her to be so detained.

(3) In sub-paragraph (2) “further care” means such one or more of the following as are appropriate in P’s case—

(a) further examination;

(b) the provision to P of other treatment or care.