Air Force Act 1955

16 Discharge of airmen of unsound mind

(1) Where it appears to the Air Council or any officer deputed by them that an airman of the regular air force is—

(a) a dangerous person of unsound mind; or

(b) a person of unsound mind requiring treatment in a mental hospital and having no relative who claims to take charge of him ; or

(c) a person of unsound mind having no relative willing to take charge of him,

the Air Council or officer deputed by them may if they or he think proper cause the airman on his discharge to be received in a mental hospital in accordance with the following provisions of this section.

(2) Where the airman has a home in Great Britain, the Regional Hospital Board for the area in which his home is situated shall, on request made by the Air Council or officer deputed by them, forthwith designate a mental hospital in their area, and the Air Council or officer shall by order direct that the airman shall be received into that hospital.

(3) Where the airman has a home in Northern Ireland—

(a) the secretary or other officer of the Northern Ireland Hospitals Authority shall, on request made by the Air Council or officer deputed by them, forthwith designate a mental hospital in Northern Ireland, and the Air Council or officer deputed by them shall by order direct that the airman shall be received into that hospital; and

(b) the Air Council or officer deputed by them shall, if the case so requires, inform the welfare authority and that authority shall take such steps as may in their Opinion be necessary to secure the welfare of the wife and children of the airman.

(4) An order made under subsection (2) of this section shall have the like effect, and the like proceedings shall be taken thereon, as if it were an order made under section sixteen of the Lunacy Act, 1890, or in Scotland an order of the sheriff made under section fourteen, or in the case of an airman being a dangerous person of unsound mind, section fifteen, of the Lunacy (Scotland) Act, 1862; and an order under paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of this section shall have the like effect, and the like proceedings shall be taken thereon, as if it were an order made by a judicial authority under section ten of the Mental Health Act (Northern Ireland), 1948.

(5) Any question arising under this section whether, and if so where, a person has a home in Great Britain or Northern Ireland shall be decided by the Air Council or an officer deputed by them, and for the purposes of this section a person with no home in Great Britain or Northern Ireland may be treated as if he had a home in such area as may be determined by the Air Council or an officer deputed by them.