Difficulties with timely SOADs visits

As we all know, if 3 months have passed from the day on which medication for a detained in-patient was first administered during their current period of detention, incapacitated or refusing patients cannot be given medication to which section 58 applies unless a second opinion approved doctor (SOAD) certifies that the treatment is appropriate. Since the recent amendments to the Mental Health Act came into force, ¹ it has been our experience on one occasion that due to the SOAD being unable to visit the patient on time to allow the T3 form (used by a SOAD to certify that medication for mental disorder treatment is appropriate in the case of a detained patient who is either refusing or incapable of giving consent) ² to be completed, it was necessary to complete section 62. This was to enable treatment of an incapacitated patient who would otherwise have been likely to have deteriorated and to behave aggressively and potentially violently. Two other consultants working in our trust have had to resort to using section 62 in similar circumstances. We can only conclude that the governmentled changes in the Mental Health Act, including the introduction of supervised community treatment, have led to these difficulties in obtaining SOADs.