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As a voluntary patient on a psychiatric ward, you are in the same position as a voluntary patient on any other type of hospital ward, which means you are legally free to leave hospital as and when you choose. However, if nurses on the ward are concerned that it will be too risky for you to leave hospital, they may consider using their temporary holding powers under s5 of the MHA, which means that you can be kept on the ward for a limited period, in order for an assessment under the MHA to take place.

It is entirely up to you whether to apply for a tribunal, but if you need advice, you can always discuss your situation with a solicitor free of charge. You may decide to apply for a tribunal if you want to be discharged from your section and there is no other realistic way of achieving it. You will need to bear in mind, however, that you will only be allowed one tribunal for each period of detention. You will also need to bear in mind that it may take some time between the application being submitted and the tribunal hearing take place. If you are detained under s2, the hearing should be within 7 days of the application. If you are detained under s3 (or 37), however, there will probably be a period of approximately 8 weeks between the application and the hearing. If you are detained under s2, your application will need to be submitted in the first 14 days of your detention.

Unless you are on a CTO (see below), you are under no legal requirement to continue with treatment after you leave hospital. Before stopping any treatment, however, we would advise you to raise any concerns you have about your treatment with your care team. It is always better to do things by agreement if possible.

If you are on a CTO, it is highly likely that there will be several conditions attached to it, eg to reside at a certain address. As a matter of law, you cannot be forced to abide by these conditions. You cannot be forced, for example, to take medication against your wishes, even if a condition of your CTO is that you should take it. However, anyone who is on a CTO is liable to recall to hospital as a result of being on the CTO, and your failure to abide by a condition of the CTO may be taken into account when deciding whether you have reached the threshold requiring your recall.

Legal aid is often available for representation in cases before the court of protection. In some circumstances, this is not subject to a means test. We are able to explain the legal aid regulations to you and will ensure that you receive legal aid if you are eligible.