This leaflet includes information for people who have been brought to a place of safety under section 136 of the Mental Health Act. It includes how long a person can be kept at the place of safety and what happens next.
| Record your details below |
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| 1. Patient's name: |
| 2. Place of safety: |
You have been brought to this place of safety by a police officer because they are concerned that you may have a mental disorder and should be seen by a mental health professional.
You are being kept here under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 so that you can be assessed to see if you need treatment.
You can be kept here (or in another place where you will be safe) for up to 24 hours so that you can be seen by a doctor and an approved mental health professional. A doctor can extend this for up to 12 hours if they are unable to complete assessment due to your clinical presentation.
An approved mental health professional is someone who has been specially trained to help decide whether people need to be kept in hospital.
If the doctor and the approved mental health professional agree that you need to remain in hospital, a second doctor may be asked to see you to confirm their decision.
During this time you must not leave unless you are told that you may. If you try to go, the staff can stop you, and if you leave you can be brought back.
If the doctors and the approved mental health professional have not seen you by the end of the 24 hours, and not extension has been made, you will be free to leave.
| In your case the 24 hours end at: |
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| Date: |
| Time: |
When the doctors and an approved mental health professional have seen you, they may say that you need to stay in hospital for longer. They will tell you why and for how long this is likely to be. You will be given another leaflet that explains what will happen.
If they decide that you do not have to stay, someone will talk to you about what other help you should have.
No. Even if you do not agree that you need to be in hospital, you cannot appeal against the decision to keep you here under section 136.
The hospital staff will tell you about any treatment, this will occur on admission if felt necessary not at the place of safety suite. 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.
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.
If you are unsure about your care or treatment, staff can help.
Staff or a carer can also support you to read this leaflet. They will be able to answer any questions that you have. You can ask for another copy for someone else.
You can talk to a staff member or use the contacts listed below. See other ways to give feedback.
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: yourvoice
Comments and complaints
If something went wrong, please tell us. This will help us improve services.
Email: complaints
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: pals
Telephone: 0800 032 0202
PALS South of Tyne
(services in Sunderland, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Lotus Ward, Middlesbrough)
Email: pals
Telephone: 0800 328 4397
If you do not feel that the hospital complaints procedure can help you, you can complain to an independent Commission.
This is called the Care Quality Commission, and it monitors how the Mental Health Act is used, to make sure it is used correctly and that patients are cared for properly while they are in hospital. The hospital staff can give you a leaflet explaining how to contact the Commission.
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 pic
Published by the Patient Information Centre
2026 Copyright: Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
Ref: PIC/206/0526 May 2026 V7
Review date 2027
Website: www.