Mental Health Review

If you are detained or subject to certain orders made under the Mental Health (Jersey) Law 2016 (MHJL 2016) or the Capacity and Self-Determination (Jersey) Law 2016 (CSDL 2016), you may be able to apply to the Mental Health Review Tribunal (MHRT) to have the matter reviewed.

Who can apply

Application to the MHRT can be made by individuals themselves (including with the support of hospital/care home staff or Independent Advocacy Jersey - My Voice) or by an individual’s Nearest Relative/Nearest Person.

A patient’s/individual’s case may also be referred for review if an individual has been in hospital for an extended period and has not requested a review or cannot request a review because they lack capacity to do so.

All applications to the MHRT must be made in writing and there are important time limits for when applications need to be made.

Our application forms can be downloaded below. If you have any problems accessing the forms or guidance, please contact us.

When to apply

When someone can apply depends on when the patient was detained/the individual placed under restrictions.

If a patient has been detained for assessment (Article 21) an application can be made within the first 14 days of being detained.
If the patient has been detained for treatment (Article 22) an application can be made anytime within the first 6 months of being detained. If the patient is detained for longer than 6 months, the patient can apply once in the second 6 month period and then once every 12 months.
If the individual has been made subject to a significant restriction of liberty (a SROL) under the CDSL, they can apply at any time for a review of those restrictions.

There are a number of other matters that can be appealed to the MHRT and the Responsible Clinician (in MHRT cases), the care home manager (in CSDL cases) or Independent Advocacy - My Voice will be able to give further information about other applications that can be made.

What happens after an application is made?

All patients and individuals subject to restrictions on their liberty will be provided with access to free, specialist, independent legal advice once their appeal has been accepted by the MHRT. These lawyers have been accredited by the Law Society of Jersey; they are specialist practitioners in this area and are appointed by the Tribunal on a rota basis.

Once the Tribunal has received the application it will set a date for the hearing. When this will happen depends on the type of application but this will usually be within:

14 days if the patient is detained for assessment (or shorter if the appeal is made closer to the assessment’s expiry date)
2 months if the patient is detained for treatment.

Before the hearing, the patients/individuals will usually be seen by the MHRT medical member who will also read the medical records and speak to relevant staff. The Tribunal will also receive various reports and the patient/individual’s lawyer will also be given a copy of these in advance of the hearing.

Help and guidance

More information about the MHRT, its work and what to expect, can be found in our guidance notes.

Application Forms

MHRTAPP1: This is for applications relating to detention under the MHJL 2016 (e.g. by patients who are detained in St Saviour’s Hospital under Art.21 or Art.22 of the MHJL 2016).

MHRTAPP2 : This is for applications relating to individuals who are subject to restrictions of liberty under the CSDL 2016.

MHRT3: This is for when an individual has applied to the MHRT but wants to withdraw their application.