This leaflet provides information for people who have been remanded to hospital for assessment under section 35 of the Mental health Act. It includes information about why you are in hospital, how long you could be there, what will happen whilst you are there, what happens next and what your rights to appeal are. There is also information about what help you can receive from an independent mental health advocate.
| 1. Patient’s name |
| 2. Name of the person in charge of your care (your “responsible clinician”) |
| 3. Name of hospital and ward |
| 4. Date you were remanded |
You are being kept in this hospital because you have been remanded here by the Court. The Court has said you can be kept here under section 35 of the Mental Health Act 1983.
This means that the Court, on the advice of a doctor, thinks that you could have a mental disorder and that you should be in hospital so that a report can be made on your mental health.
You can be kept here for the period specified by the Court. This will be up to 28 days (four weeks) at first, from the date on which you were remanded.
You must not leave the hospital during this time unless the Court decides that you may. If you try to leave the staff can stop you, and if you do leave you can be brought back. You might also be arrested by a police officer and taken back to the Court.
The hospital staff will tell you about any treatment they think you need. You have the right to refuse 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.
At the end of the 28 days (or the period specified by the Court) the person in charge of making a report on your mental health will tell the Court whether or not you need to be kept in hospital for a longer period.
You can only be kept here for longer than 28 days if the Court says so. The Court can renew your remand, but for no more than 28 days at a time and not for more than 12 weeks in total. It can renew your remand without you being in court so long as you are represented by a lawyer to speak on your behalf.
The Court can decide, at any time, that you should not be kept here any longer.
You are entitled to help from an independent mental health advocate if you want it. These advocates are independent of people involved in your care. They can help you get information about your care and treatment, why you are being kept in hospital, what it means and what your rights are. They can come to see you and help you understand what you are told by people involved in your care and treatment. If you want, they can help you talk to these people or they can talk to them for you.
You can contact the independent mental health advocacy service yourself. Please ask a member of staff for the telephone number. There should be a telephone where you can talk to them in private. You can ask a member of staff where this is.
If you do not want to contact the advocacy service yourself, you can ask a member of staff to contact the advocacy service for you.
You can ask the Court to remand you to prison or on bail instead. To help you, you can ask another doctor or approved clinician to examine you, to see if they will write a report saying that you do not need to be kept in hospital. (An approved clinician is a professional with special training in looking after people kept in hospital under the Mental Health Act.) You will have to pay for this yourself, and it will be for the Court to decide whether or not you must stay in hospital when it has considered all the reports on your case.
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.
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/199/0526 May 2026 V11
Review date 2027
Website: www.