This leaflet provides information for people who are being kept in hospital due to a court order under section 38 of the Mental Health Act. It includes information such as why you are in hospital, how long you could be kept there, what happens next and you rights to appeal.
| 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 of your interim hospital order |
You are being kept in this hospital on the order of the Court. The Court has said you can be kept here under section 38 of the Mental Health Act 1983.
This is called an “interim hospital order”. It means that the Court, on the advice of two doctors, thinks that you have a mental disorder and that you may need treatment in hospital.
You can be kept here for the period specified in your order. This may be up to 12 weeks at first, starting from the date on which your order was made. You must not leave 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 may also be arrested by a police officer and taken back to Court.
At the end of the period specified in your order, the person in charge of your care (your responsible clinician) will report to the Court on whether you need more treatment. The Court will then decide if you should stay in hospital for more treatment or if it should pass some other sentence.
You can only be kept here for longer than 12 weeks if the Court says so. The Court can renew the order, but for no more than 28 days at a time and not for more than 12 months in total. It can renew the order without you being in court so long as you are represented by a lawyer who is allowed to speak on your behalf.
The Court can also decide, at any time, that you should not be kept here any longer, or that you can be kept here (or in a different hospital) under a different section of the Mental Health Act. If that happens, you will be given another leaflet explaining what it means.
Yes. You can appeal to the Court against the interim hospital order. If you want to do this you must do it quickly and it is best to have a solicitor to help you. Ask the hospital staff about this and they will give you another leaflet.
Your responsible clinician and other hospital staff will talk to you about any treatment that you need for your mental disorder. In most cases you will have to accept their advice. After three months, there are special rules about any medicine or drugs you are being given for your mental disorder. If you do not want the medicine or drugs, or are too ill to say whether you want them, a doctor who is not from this hospital will visit you. This independent doctor will talk to you and to staff at the hospital who know you. The independent doctor will decide what medicine and drugs you can be given. Unless it is an emergency, these are the only medicine and drugs you can be given without your agreement.
This independent doctor is called a SOAD (Second Opinion Appointed Doctor) and is appointed by an independent Commission which monitors how the Mental Health Act is used.
There are different rules for some special treatments, like electro-convulsive therapy (ECT). If the staff think you need one of these special treatments, the rules will be explained to you and you will be given another leaflet.
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.
All letters sent to you 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/PIC/198/0526 May 2026 V11
Review date 2027
Website: www.