Need advice daughter arrested and mental health section

[drinkingwineoutofamug]

Daughter voluntary section last Thursday.
Psychotic breakdown
Assaulted a staff member who was trying to stop my daughter from stabbing herself.
And punch a fellow patient who threw hot tea in her face burning her.
She was discharged yesterday, police outside the mental health unit waiting to arrest her.
She's been charged for crimes she committed while under a section and is up in court tomorrow.
Help!

No help op, but feel for you. I don’t know what they can charge her with considering she hAd no mental capacity at the time. Utter madness

Thats bloody ridiculous!

The tea one has to be self defence.

So sorry OP.

I am not sure what to suggest other than trying to find a solicitor asap.

She's got a solicitor but not sure if they have a clue about the mental health act.
I'm reading it .
So she's still in custody, they won't tell me if she has her meds for her conditions .
I'm worried sick

There's no such thing as a "voluntary section". The point of a "section" is that it is involuntary.

Being in hospital is not an automatic exemption from criminal investigation.

You need a criminal law solicitor.

Your poor poor daughter. Surely her mental health at the time will be taken into consideration. I really feel for you. I hope she is going to receive on going help for her problems. She needs a whole lot of help and certainly does not deserve being arrested and all the stress that entails. My heart goes out to you.

She needs a solicitor who knows about criminal law. She's not dealing with anything under the MHA.

There is nothing in the MHA that offers any kind of exemption from arrest or investigation for criminal offences committed whilst an inpatient. That is not what the Act is for.

@legoriakelne

There's no such thing as a "voluntary section". The point of a "section" is that it is involuntary.

Being in hospital is not an automatic exemption from criminal investigation.

You need a criminal law solicitor.

This

I found these solictors OP.

www.duncanlewis.co.uk/Mental-health-and-crime.html

They have a 24/7 phone line. I have never used them so cant recommend but it might be worth a call to see what they say.

I remember you from previous threads a few years ago. I am so sorry to yo her this. No advice but hugs xx hope you will get info soon x

Theres also this one..

www.ibblaw.co.uk/service/criminal-defence-individuals/supporting-clients-with-mental-health-issues-and-other-vulnerabilities

And this MIND page of general info:

www.mind.org.uk/information-support/legal-rights/courts-and-mental-health/getting-legal-advice/

Good luck OP

@Lollypop701

No help op, but feel for you. I don’t know what they can charge her with considering she hAd no mental capacity at the time. Utter madness

How do you know that she had ‘no mental capacity’?

Op, I feel for you but why shouldn’t they look at what happened? She assaulted people.

Also if she was a voluntary patient she’s not under section.

@legoriakelne

There's no such thing as a "voluntary section". The point of a "section" is that it is involuntary.

Being in hospital is not an automatic exemption from criminal investigation.

You need a criminal law solicitor.

She was admitted under section 5(2) which is voluntary . Held for 72 hours . During that time she was self harming and tried to suffocate herself whilst she was meant to be on 2:1 observations.

Makes me laugh as when at work I was punched in the face by a patient, I couldn't do anything as they weren't of sound mind. How times have changed.

Was she on a Sedrion or was she a voluntary patient. Poor girl, can you speak to the Custody Seargent and ask if she has seen a doctor or the Custody Nurse, is she on medication.

What did she do to the member of staff? I was assaulted last week on the ward, and other than a datix, nothing done as patient under AWI.

I am not going to argue regarding sections.
The police have actually looked after her better than the unit she was in.
So she's been charge with throwing a plastic plate. Pushing a member of staff into the shower , hitting a patient on the head who threw tea on her.

@FleasInMyKnees

Was she on a Sedrion or was she a voluntary patient. Poor girl, can you speak to the Custody Seargent and ask if she has seen a doctor or the Custody Nurse, is she on medication.

She has a mh nurse with her in the custody suit

Charged with throwing a plastic plate?! Really?! Have you seen that or is that what she's telling you?

@MichelleScarn

Charged with throwing a plastic plate?! Really?! Have you seen that or is that what she's telling you?

Came out of the solicitors mouth

A section 5(2) isn't voluntary.

Innocent until proven guilty- of course the police need to investigate her violence, if self defence, that will come out.

Its good that she has a nurse with her, I hope she is safe and they are getting on well with each other. Has she been offered a duty solicitor.

@gordongrumpy

A section 5(2) isn't voluntary.

Innocent until proven guilty- of course the police need to investigate her violence, if self defence, that will come out.

I'm worried as she has a past history of being violent. Prison twice. Then she spent a week in hospital having a range of tests and was diagnosed with medication resistant epilepsy, with frontal lobe damage . She was meant to be for surgery but not enough damage to meet the criteria.

@FleasInMyKnees she has her own solicitor. We have given him all the information about her condition, change in medications that have resulted in some really strange behaviours etc

Agree with pp there is no such thing as a "voluntary section". You are either informal, or you are under the mental health act. I'm sorry this sounds like a really stressful time but it's worth getting someone to properly explain it all to you so you understand the terminology etc.

Yes @generalh it me. She's done so well in the last 18months

Poor girl, prison isn't always the right place, are you able to go to Court tomorrow. Hopefully the police will have access to her medical records, I dont know how that works but someone here will know.