This is a court order, which can only be made by the Crown Court, which imposes a s37 hospital order together with a s41 restriction order. The restriction order is imposed to protect the public from serious harm. The restrictions affect leave of absence, transfer between hospitals, and discharge, all of which require Ministry of Justice permission. The NR has no part to play. The following are the routes to discharge:

1. MHRT, as for s3, except that no application can be made within the first 6-month period. The MHRT aim to hold the hearing within 14 weeks; it usually takes 4-5 months. The criteria in s73 apply.
2. The Ministry of Justice can discharge at any time. This is relatively rare, but would usually happen at the request of the RC.

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