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Committing someone to enforced treatment is an absolutely massive action. In the UK, it requires a police officer, doctor, and social worker to all agree that i

• DanBC 8y ago
  It doesn't require police. There are different forms of detention, and different forms of forced treatment. These are described (for England) in the Mental Health Act. This is what it means to be sectioned - you are detained under section of the mental health act. The most common sections are: Section 136: a police officer can detain you in a public place and take you to a place of safety to be assessed. This requires one police officer. It lasts a maximum of 24 hours (but it can be extended by 12 hours). Section 2: this is a short 28 day hold for assessment and treatment. It requires 2 doctors and an AMHP. Traditionally AMHPs were social workers, but they don't have to be and there are increasing numbers of nurses becoming AMHPs. Section 3: this is a six month hold for treatment. It requires 2 doctors and an AMHP. Section 4 is another short term hold (72 hours) that can be used in emergencies if there's only 1 doctor available. https://www.rethink.org/living-with-mental-illness/mental-health-laws/mental-health-act-1983/sections-2-3-4-5 https://www.rethink.org/living-with-mental-illness/mental-he...