Transferred Prisoners Solicitors

Transferred Prisoners under Section 47 of the Mental Health Act (1983)

If you are to be transferred from prison to hospital under Section 45A, 47 or 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983, talk to a specialist Mental Health solicitor for advice. It is important to know your rights, the effects this transfer may have on you and whether you can appeal the prison transfer.

Contact our specialist Mental Health Solicitors for tailored advice to your circumstances now. would be happy to hear from you. Time is often crucial in dealing with matters related to prison transfers and mental health law, and it is therefore advisable to seek legal advice as soon as you are aware of an issue arising.

Reeds Solicitors is an award winning and leading top-tier law firm. For legal advice and representation, please contact us through our contact page here. Alternatively, you can phone 0333 240 7373, or email us at info@reeds.co.uk.

If you have been transferred from prison to hospital under the Mental Health Act, you should be informed of your rights by a member of the hospital staff as soon as possible. You have the following rights:

  • To receive information about your transfer to hospital (section) and the reasons for your detention.
  • Information about consent and it’s limitations in regards to treatment
  • Your right to appeal to a Mental Health Tribunal.
  • Information about your access to a qualified solicitor.
  • Information on access to the support of an Independent Mental Health Advocate (IMHA)
  • Provided Information about correspondence and visitors
  • Provided details on how you can make a complaint
  • Information regarding safeguarding during your detainment
  • Information about the Care Quality Commission.
Meet the team

How Can Reeds Solicitors Help You as a Transferred Prisoner?

Our specialist mental health solicitors can meet with you in hospital to advise you on your section and your rights.

At Reeds, we can advise you of your legal status and what a Mental Health Tribunal could do for you. We can advise you of the merits of your case and represent you at these hearings to ensure an effective argument against your detention.

We can attend Care Programme Approach (CPA) meetings and Section 117 aftercare meetings with you or on your behalf. If you have a Learning Disability, we can request Care and Treatment Reviews (CTRs) and attend them with you or on your behalf.

We can also act for prisoners who wish to be transferred to a psychiatric unit and require assistance in doing so.

Additionally, if you have been made subject to a Section 45A Hybrid Order, we can provide advice and assistance on your status and rights.

Our advice and assistance are usually free of charge under the Legal Help Scheme, subject to a means assessment.

When being transferred, you may not know why you are being transferred to hospital, nor what your rights are. Our Mental Health Team can support you in any Section 47 or Section 47 & 49 prisoner transfer matter.

Advise you on your rights to aftercare under Section 117 MHA 1983.

Click here for further information.

Get in touch

Information is processed inline with UK GDPR and our Privacy Policy

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

FAQ

Section 47 of the Mental Health Act allows for the transfer of a prisoner to hospital if two doctors recommend treatment in hospital is required.

Two doctors can decide to transfer you from prison to hospital if they believe you need treatment for a mental health disorder.

The doctors must have authorisation from the UK Home Secretary, and at least one doctor must be section 12 approved.

If you are being transferred to hospital from prison under the Mental Health Act, two doctors have made the decision that it is in the best interests of health and safety that you receive treatment for a Mental Health disorder.

An individual can be detained in hospital for up to six months under section 47 of the Mental Health Act. However, a doctor or mental health professional can decide that it is necessary for a prisoner to remain in hospital for further treatment. In these circumstances, a person can be detained for an additional six months. After the first 12 months, a detainment order can be renewed at 12-month intervals.

When you have been transferred from prison to hospital (“sectioned”), you have rights you can exercise. Your rights when in hospital are:

  • Having an explanation and information about why you are being held in hospital.
  • You should be provided information about consent to treatment
  • The ability to appeal to a Mental Health Tribunal the decision to section you
  • Access to a solicitor or advocate for help, guidance and advice.
  • The ability to meet hospital managers.

If you feel any of these rights have been denied, then contact Reeds’ Mental Health Solicitors for support and advice.

Your doctor or the Tribunal can remit you back to prison if you are detained under Section 47/49. If you would like to be discharged from Hospital to the Community, your case must be successful at the Tribunal then the Parole Board.

A tribunal is an independent panel made up of three people – a solicitor, a psychiatrist and a specialist member. After reviewing the case, a tribunal is able to recommend remittal to prison, recommend the patient remains in hospital for parole, or they may uphold the section.

Yes, medication can be administered for up to three months without consent if they are detained under the Mental Health Act.

After three months has elapsed, if a person refuses to consent to the medication the opinion of a second doctor is required before medication can be administered against their will (i.e. without consent). If the situation is considered an emergency, then medication can still be administered without consent.

This depends on whether you are “pre-tariff” or “post-tariff”.

A transferred prisoner serving an “indeterminate” custodial sentence will have a tariff. This is anyone serving an IPP, DPP, or a life sentence. This is the minimum time someone should spend in prison before they can apply for Parole to be released. The Judge will specify what the tariff is at sentencing.

Someone on an indeterminate sentence “pre-tariff” (before they are eligible to apply for parole) must continue to serve their custodial sentence. Any time spent in hospital will count as time served towards their sentence, but they cannot be discharged from hospital into the community.

A transferred prisoner subject to S.47/49 serving an indeterminate sentence may be “post-tariff”, that is, they are eligible to apply to the Parole Board to consider whether they are now fit to be released from prison.

These are the most complex cases because an application must first be made to the Mental Health Tribunal for a recommendation for Parole, and sometimes the patient can remain in hospital whilst waiting for their Parole Hearing. The Tribunal is not obliged to follow the recommendations of the doctor, and there is always a risk that they recommend that the patient is remanded back to prison, even if their team do not agree. Because of this – it is essential in these cases that patients are legally represented.

A Notional 37 is a S.47 order without the restriction direction. This happens either when somebody is transferred without a S.49 restriction (for example, if they are very old/frail, or if their sentence is almost expired), or if the patient’s sentence has lapsed whilst they are in hospital.

Patients subject to Notional 37s are treated like a S.37 hospital order. Their doctor must renew their detention at certain intervals, and there is no need to seek consent from the Ministry of Justice for S.17 leave, transfer, or discharge. The Mental Health Tribunal can discharge these patients directly into the community.