Mental Health Act 1983

88 Patients absent from hospitals in England and Wales. U.K.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, any person who, under section 18 above or section 138 below or under the said section 18 as applied by section 22 above, may be taken into custody in England and Wales may be taken into custody in, and returned to England and Wales from, any other part of the United Kingdom or the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

(2) For the purposes of the enactments referred to in subsection (1) above, in their application by virtue of this section to Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, the expression “constable” includes a Scottish constable, an officer or constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, a member of the police in Jersey, an officer of police within the meaning of section 43 of the Larceny (Guernsey) Ltd 1958 or any corresponding law for the time being in force, or a constable in the Isle of Man, as the case may be.

(3) For the purposes of the said enactments in their application by virtue of this section to Scotland or Northern Ireland, any reference to an approved social worker shall be construed as including a reference—

(a) in Scotland, to any mental health officer within the meaning of the [F1 Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984];

(b) in Northern Ireland, to any [F2 approved social worker within the meaning of the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986].

(4) This section does not apply to any person who is subject to guardianship.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words substituted by Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 36, SIF 85), ss. 17(2), 127, Sch. 3 para. 52

F2 Words substituted by S.I. 1986/596, art. 2(16)