This is a court order imposed instead of a prison sentence, if the offender is sufficiently mentally unwell at the time of sentencing to require hospitalisation. It has the same duration as a section 3, and in many ways operates exactly the same way. One difference is the routes to discharge:

1. RC, as for s2 and s3.
2. MHRT, as for s3.
3. HMH, as for s3
4. NR. Note that this is entirely different. The nearest relative discharge procedure does not operate for criminal sections; however, for s37 the nearest relative can apply to the MHRT.

For a consultation with one of our Mental Health Team please call us on 020 7426 0400 or email us on office@milesandpartners.com.