Armed Forces Act 2006

Valid from 28/03/2009

Urgent removal from service living accommodation to overseas service hospital U.K.

8 (1) This paragraph applies if a service policeman has reasonable grounds for believing that— U.K.

(a) there is in any service living accommodation outside the British Islands a person (“the patient”) who is a person subject to service law or a civilian subject to service discipline;

(b) the patient is suffering from mental disorder;

(c) the patient is in urgent need of care or control to prevent him causing serious harm to himself or others; and

(d) the urgent need to remove the patient to and detain him in a service hospital makes it impracticable for an order under paragraph 2(3) to be sought before removing and detaining him.

(2) The service policeman may—

(a) enter the service living accommodation; and

(b) remove the patient to an overseas service hospital.

(3) The service policeman must if reasonably practicable be accompanied by—

(a) a registered medical practitioner, or

(b) a person of a description prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State,

who may assist the service policeman to exercise the power conferred on him by sub-paragraph (2).

(4) The commanding officer of the service hospital to which the patient is removed may detain him at the service hospital for the purpose of enabling an order under paragraph 2(3) to be sought in relation to him.

(5) But the patient may not be detained under this paragraph beyond—

(a) the end of the detention period (see sub-paragraphs (6) and (7)); or

(b) if sooner, the making of a determination whether or not to make such an order in relation to him.

(6) The detention period is—

(a) 6 hours beginning with his arrival at the service hospital; or

(b) if before the end of that 6 hour period a registered medical practitioner determines that all the relevant conditions are met in the case of the patient, 24 hours beginning with that time.

(7) But if during that 6 hour period a registered medical practitioner determines that one or more of the relevant conditions are not met in the case of the patient—

(a) the patient must be released immediately; and

(b) the detention period ends with his release.

(8) The person making a determination under sub-paragraph (6)(b) must, as soon as practicable, make a record of the determination and the reasons for it.