Arrival at Psychiatric/Learning Disability hospital. Person received by nurse in charge. Forms delivered to nurse in charge. ASW or person delegated by ASW remains with the person until he has been examined by doctor on staff of hospital
On arrival at the hospital the person should be accompanied by the ASW or the person delegated by the ASW. The person should be introduced to and received by the nurse in charge who should take possession of and scrutinise the Forms. In addition, in the circumstances described in box 27, NIAS and/or PSNI may also be required to escort the person to the admission unit.
The applicant (ASW or nearest relative), or a person delegated by the applicant has a duty to ensure that the Application, Form 1 or 2 and Medical Recommendation, Form 3 have been correctly completed. These forms should always be in the possession of the applicant or person delegated by the applicant until they have been delivered to the nurse in charge on arrival at the hospital.
The Medical Recommendation, Form 3 and Application forms, Form 1 or 2 and any other forms, for example Form 4, that have been used in the assessment for admission to hospital process are, and should be treated, as legal documents. These and any reports that follow should be forwarded through arrangements in the receiving Health and Social Care Trust to RQIA. Minor errors may be amended under Article 11 of the Order during the period of 14 days beginning with the date of admission prior to this.
Medical recommendations or reports which do not provide sufficient evidence to warrant detention in hospital for assessment may be disregarded and replaced during this period. However, more serious errors cannot be rectified and may invalidate the entire detention process. These include failure to complete detention forms or reports within the timescales set out in the Order or failure to comply with statutory requirements i.e. failure to interview the patient. LINK TO Appendix Scrutiny and Rectification of Documents
The ASW, if not travelling in the vehicle with the person, should arrive at the receiving hospital at the same time as the person or as soon as possible afterwards. The ASW should ensure that the admission documents have been delivered and that the process of admission, including the medical examination is underway. The ASW should also ensure that all relevant information is passed to appropriate hospital personnel in the hospital.
The person is subject to detention once the doctor on the staff of the hospital has completed Form 7. The person is not therefore subject to detention prior to this action. For this reason, the ASW (or a person delegated by the ASW) should remain until the patient has been examined and the process of admission has been completed.