Section 4 – Detention in hospital for assessment in an emergency

1. Patient’s name

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. Name of the person in charge of your care (your “responsible clinician”)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

3. Name of hospital and ward

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

You are being kept in hospital under section 4 of the Mental Health Act 1983 because a doctor thinks you have a mental disorder and that you must stay in hospital

You have to stay in this hospital for up to 72 hours so that you can be seen by a second doctor to confirm if the decision to keep you in hospital is correct.

During this time you must not leave unless the person in charge of your care (your responsible clinician) says that you may. If you try to go, the staff can stop you, and if you leave, you can be brought back.

In your case the 72 hours end at:

Date………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Time……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

If, after 72 hours, another doctor has not seen you, you will be free to leave. But if you decide to leave then, please talk to your responsible clinician or another member of staff first.

When the second doctor sees you, they may say that you need to stay in hospital for longer. That doctor, or your responsible clinician, will tell you why and for how long this is likely to be. You will be given another leaflet that explains this. If they decide that you do not need to stay, either they or another member of staff will talk to you about what other help you should have.

The hospital staff will tell you about any treatment they think you need. You have the right to refuse any treatment you do not want. Only in special circumstances, which would be explained to you, can you be given treatment you do not agree to.

Yes, you can appeal against the decision to keep you in hospital under section 4.

To do this, you can ask the Hospital Managers to let you leave. You can do this at any time. The Hospital Managers are a special committee of people set up within the hospital to decide whether people should be kept in hospital. They may want to talk to you before deciding whether to let you leave.

You can write to the Hospital Managers at your local Mental Health Act Office at either:

Mental Health Act Office
St Nicholas Hospital
Jubilee Road
Gosforth
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE3 3XT
or

Mental Health Act Office
Carleton Clinic
Cumwhinton Drive
Carlisle
Cumbria
CA1 3SX

Or you can ask a member of staff to help you contact the Hospital Managers.

Your nearest relative can also write to the Hospital Managers to say that they want you to be allowed to leave hospital. This leaflet explains further down who your nearest relative is. If your nearest relative does this, the Hospital Managers must let you leave within 72 hours unless your responsible clinician tells them you might be a danger to yourself or other people if you are allowed to leave. If this happens, it will be another six months before your nearest relative will be able to tell the Hospital Managers again that they want you to leave, if you are still being kept in hospital then.

You can also ask a Tribunal to say you should no longer be kept in hospital. You can only do this during the first 14 days of the 28 days you can be kept in hospital.

The Tribunal is an independent panel which can decide whether you should be allowed to leave the hospital. It will hold a meeting with you and with staff from the hospital who know you. This meeting is called a “hearing”. You can ask someone else to come to the hearing to help you, if you want. Before the hearing, the members of the Tribunal will read reports from the hospital about you and your care. One of the members of the Tribunal will also come to talk to you.

The Tribunal will probably not be able to do this until after the 72 hours is up. So there will only be a hearing if the second doctor has decided that you need to be kept in hospital for longer than that.

If you want to apply to the Tribunal you can write to:
The Tribunals Service
PO BOX 8793
5th Floor
Leicester
LE1 8BN
Telephone: 0300 303 5857

You can ask a solicitor to write to the Tribunal for you and help you at the hearing. The hospital and the Law Society have a list of solicitors who specialise in this. You will not have to pay for help from a solicitor with this. It is free of charge under the Legal Aid scheme.

A copy of this leaflet will be given to the person the Mental Health Act says is your nearest relative.

There is a list of people in the Mental Health Act who are treated as your relatives. Normally, the person who comes highest in that list is your nearest relative. The hospital staff can give you a leaflet which explains this and what rights your nearest relative has in connection with your care and treatment.

In your case, we have been told that your nearest relative is:

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

If you do not want this person to receive a copy of the leaflet, please tell your nurse or another member of staff.

If you do not think this person is suitable to be your nearest relative, you can apply to the County Court for someone else to be treated as your nearest relative instead. The hospital staff can give you a leaflet that explains this.

All letters sent to you while you are in hospital will be given to you. You can send letters to anyone except someone who has said they do not want to get letters from you. Letters to these people can be stopped by the hospital staff.

There is a Code of Practice that gives advice to the staff in the hospital about the Mental Health Act and treating people for mental disorder. The staff have to consider what the Code says when they take decisions about your care. You can ask to see a copy of the Code, if you want.

You can talk to a staff member or use the contacts listed below.
See other ways to give feedback or scan the QR code:

Your Voice
You can use this email to tell us what you think about your care. This can be good or bad. You can also ask us to tell you what happens after you send feedback.

Email: [email protected]

Comments and complaints
If something went wrong, please tell us. This will help us improve services.

Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 0191 245 6672
Write to: Complaints Department, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, St Nicholas Hospital, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 3XT.

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
PALS offer a free, confidential service. They can help if you are worried about your care. They support patients, families and carers.

PALS North of Tyne
(services in Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland and North Cumbria)
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 0800 032 0202

PALS South of Tyne
(services in Sunderland, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Lotus Ward, Middlesbrough)
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 0800 328 4397

If there is anything you do not understand about your care and treatment, a member of staff will try to help you. Please ask a member of staff to explain if there is anything in this leaflet you do not understand or if you have other questions that this leaflet has not answered.

Please ask if you would like another copy of this leaflet for someone else.

You can get more information about this leaflet from the Patient Information Centre. This includes how the leaflet was made. We can provide this leaflet in other formats. These include Braille, audio, large print, Easy Read, British Sign Language, and other languages.

We welcome your feedback about this leaflet. You can email [email protected]

Published by the Patient Information Centre
2026 Copyright: Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust

Ref: PIC/193/0526 May 2026 V9
Review date 2027

Website: www.cntw.nhs.uk – Telephone: 0191 246 6800

Find us on social media. Search for CNTW.