Mental Health Act 2001

Administration of medicine.

60

60.—Where medicine has been administered to a patient for the purposes of ameliorating his or her mental disorder for a continuous period of 3 months, the administration of that medicine shall not be continued unless either—

(a) the patient gives his or her consent in writing to the continued administration of that medicine, or

(b) where the patient is unable F40[…] to give such consent—

(i) the continued administration of that medicine is approved by the consultant psychiatrist responsible for the care and treatment of the patient, and

(ii) the continued administration of that medicine is authorised (in a form specified by the Commission) by another consultant psychiatrist following referral of the matter to him or her by the first-mentioned psychiatrist,

and the consent, or as the case may be, approval and authorisation shall be valid for a period of 3 months and thereafter for periods of 3 months, if, in respect of each period, the like consent or, as the case may be, approval and authorisation is obtained.

Annotations

Amendments:

F40

Deleted (15.02.2016) by Mental Health (Amendment) Act 2015 (58/2015), s. 3, S.I. No. 68 of 2016.

Modifications (not altering text):

C29

Compliance with advance healthcare directive confirmed with certain exceptions as provided by Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (64/2015), s. 85(7)(a), as substituted (26.04.2023) by Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022 (46/2022), s. 74, S.I. No. 195 of 2023.

Validity and applicability of advance healthcare directive

85. ...

(7) F127[(a) Subject to subsections (1) to (5) and paragraph (b), an advance healthcare directive shall, insofar as provided for by this Part, be complied with unless, at the time when it is proposed to treat the directive-maker—

(i) his or her treatment is regulated by Part 4 of the Act of 2001, other than where he or she is detained under that Act on the grounds that he or she is suffering from a mental disorder within the meaning of section 3(1)(b) of that Act, or

(ii) he or she is the subject of a conditional discharge order under section 13A of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006,

and sections 56, 57, 59 and 60 of the Act of 2001 shall be construed accordingly.]

C30

Reference to "patient" construed by Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (64/2015), s. 136(1A), as inserted (26.04.2023) by Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022, s. 91, S.I. No. 194 of 2023.

Patients whose treatment is regulated by Part 4 of Act of 2001

136. ...

[(1A) Subject to subsection (1)—

(a) a reference in section 56, 57, 59 or 60 of the Act of 2001 to a "patient" in the context of the patient giving his or her consent shall include a decision-making representative appointed in respect of the patient and in respect of a matter to which the relevant consent relates, and

(b) a patient shall not be regarded as incapable or unable to give consent for the purposes of section 57, 59 or 60, as the case may be, of the Act of 2001 where a decision-making representative is appointed in respect of the patient and in respect of a matter to which the relevant consent relates.]

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