To ask if these assessments are usually so quick

[Sevendaysaweek]

Dn didn’t come home from college she’s text me and said she’s been placed on a temporary police section. She said three people have come in a spoken to her for ten minutes. The same people have come back and placed her on section 2. Aibu to think that’s quite quick to make such a decision. She won’t give me the full story.

I think you need to add more details Op, and perhaps put something in the title that will draw the right people to the thread. At the minute the title seems a bit click baity and people avoid those.

Are you her legal guardian? Does she have SN? Is she an adult?

A section two is an assessment section for up to 28days , the three people will be two Drs and an approved mental health practitioner ( often a social worker) clearly they have some serious concerns about your DN mental health and safety right now,The section two can be rescinded at any time by the consultant psychiatrist.

She’s 19. She said they only spoke to her for ten minutes.

She lives with me yes.

Are you the nearest relative? This is very specific under the mental health act,if so you should be informed what's happening ,also if you phone the ward the nurse in charge of the ward might be able to reassure you.

She’s not said what ward she’s on these a few within the trust.

Does she have a history of mental health issues? Could you speak to her regular doctor to see if theyve been informed? Were the police called to the college, could you get in touch with them tomorrow to find out more?

TBH, I'd be calling the wards if i were you, though i doubt you'll get anywhere as she's a legal adult.

Yes she does I feel this has been triggered by her worker leaving and not being replaced.

Have you called her doctor, or the college?

I called the team. I don’t think the incident actually happened at the college.

Does she have SEN? Is she capable of making her own medical decisions?

As part of a mental health act assessment you would expect legal next of kin. Due to the way the law works its usually dad if dad has contact

I'd be more worried if the assessment was very quick and then they sent her home. If they've sectioned her it's because they don't think she's safe herself. So that may have been obvious straight away from what happened or from what she's saying?

No sen no. I just would have thought they would have considered it more and given her a chance to speak. She said she refused to speak to them.

Oh dear, if she refused to speak to them and the college had significant concerns, sectioning her is really their only option to ensure she is safe.

I know its so disruptive when a young person has a really good rapport with a worker, and then that worker leaves. My DD had an amazing psychiatrist... she worked with him for a few years and then he retired. It was very hard..

I'm a psychiatrist. The assessment can be very quick. It's not designed to formulate a diagnosis or a treatment plan, it's purely to assess risk (to self, others, or of deteriorating mental health)

Thank you, I’m just worried she didn’t get a chance to express herself. What sort of questions do you usually ask the patient?

It really depends. Usually questions around the circumstances that brought them to hospital, questions about any symptoms they've been having, or around things that help clarify the risks eg suicidal ideation or thoughts of harming others.

If the person refuses to engage with us at all then a lot is done based on collateral history from whoever has raised concerns.

We tend to err on the side of caution, particularly if the patient is an unknown quantity

Is it quite common for someone to be sectioned after a police section as I know they are short term? Is it the doctors that make the decision? As they told her the doctors have said you can not leave. I know she has a psychiatrist in her team would this have been the person that assessed her?

The police section lasts 24 hours, which allows time for the duty mental health team to complete their assessment.

There are 2 doctors, usually psychiatrists, and a specialist mental health social worker on the team. It is a decision between the 3 of them

It's not guaranteed that a police section will lead to a mental health section, but it's often the case

They told her that one of the people said she didn’t need to be in hospital which is why she’s confused.

@Thrownaway

As part of a mental health act assessment you would expect legal next of kin. Due to the way the law works its usually dad if dad has contact

That's not how nearest relative works AT ALL

If they placed her on a section 2, then she needs to be in hospital.

Sometimes it comes down to a split decision between the 3 assessors, they don't all have to agree. We don't usually tell the person that there's been disagreement though (although it's not forbidden or anything) so not sure what she would mean by that

I don’t know maybe she’s miss understood. I would imagine if it was three people she didn’t know that she panicked.