The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 (asp 13) is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which was passed in March 2003, and came into effect on 5 October 2005. The Act establishes that medical professionals can legally detain and treat people through short term detention on the grounds of exhibiting signs of mental disorders, with the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland and the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland providing safeguards against mistreatment on the grounds of maintaining non-discrimination practices. It received Royal Assent on 25 April 2003. It largely replaces the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984.

Detention certificates

The Act allows medical professionals to issue short-term detention certificates and emergency detention certificates. Short-term certificates are referred to by the Act as the 'preferred gateway' to detention, and would lead to up to 28 days' detention. During this period, treatment may be administered against the will of the detainee, but it can also lead to compulsory treatment orders, which may have potentially long-term implications for the detainee. Detainees can apply to the Mental Health Tribunal for revocation of short-term certificates. Emergency certificates lead to up to 72 hours' detention, and can also lead to detentions under short-term certificates. Emergency certificates do not enable treatment against the will of detainees, except for urgent treatment, and there is no formal process of appeal against them. Additionally, short-term detentions may be extended for periods of up to three working days, to facilitate applications to the Mental Health Tribunal for compulsory treatment orders. Saturdays, Sundays and Scottish bank holidays are not counted as working days. Unless a certificate is completed for someone who is already in a mental health hospital, both forms of detention are preceded by detention of up to 72 hours in what are called 'places of safety', while transport to hospital is arranged.

Principles

The law is based on a set of principles. These principles should be taken into account by anyone involved in a person's care and treatment. People providing care should also make sure that: