53Determination of applications for community treatment orders

53 Determination of applications for community treatment orders

53 Determination of applications for community treatment orders

(1) The Tribunal is, on an application for a community treatment order, to determine whether the affected person is a person who should be subject to the order.

(2) For that purpose, the Tribunal is to consider the following—

(a) a treatment plan for the affected person proposed by the declared mental health facility that is to implement the proposed order,

(b) if the affected person is subject to an existing community treatment order, a report by the psychiatric case manager of the person as to the efficacy of that order,

(c) a report as to the efficacy of any previous community treatment order for the affected person,

(d) any other information placed before the Tribunal.

(3) The Tribunal may make a community treatment order for an affected person if the Tribunal determines that—

(a) no other care of a less restrictive kind, that is consistent with safe and effective care, is appropriate and reasonably available to the person and that the affected person would benefit from the order as the least restrictive alternative consistent with safe and effective care, and

(b) a declared mental health facility has an appropriate treatment plan for the affected person and is capable of implementing it, and

(c) if the affected person has been previously diagnosed as suffering from a mental illness, the affected person has a previous history of refusing to accept appropriate treatment.

(3A) If the affected person has within the last 12 months been a forensic patient or the subject of a community treatment order, the Tribunal is not required to make a determination under subsection (3) (c) but must be satisfied that the person is likely to continue in or to relapse into an active phase of mental illness if the order is not granted.

(4) The Tribunal may not make a community treatment order at a mental health inquiry unless the Tribunal is of the opinion that the person is a mentally ill person.

(5) For the purposes of this section, a person has a previous history of refusing to accept appropriate treatment if the following are satisfied—