Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003

261 Provision of assistance to patient with communication difficulties

(1) This section applies where—

(a) a patient is detained in hospital by virtue of—

(i) this Act; or

(ii) the 1995 Act; or

(b) though not detained in hospital, a patient is subject to—

(i) an emergency detention certificate;

(ii) a short-term detention certificate;

(iii) a compulsory treatment order;

(iv) an interim compulsory treatment order;

(v) an assessment order;

(vi) a treatment order;

(vii) a hospital direction;

(viii) a transfer for treatment direction;

(ix) an interim compulsion order; or

(x) a compulsion order,

and the patient has difficulty in communicating or generally communicates in a language other than English.

(2) The appropriate person shall take all reasonable steps to secure that, for the purpose of enabling the patient to communicate during each of the events mentioned in subsection (3) below—

(a) arrangements appropriate to the patient’s needs are made; or

(b) the patient is provided with assistance, or material, appropriate to the patient’s needs.

(3) Those events are—

(a) any medical examination of the patient carried out for the purpose of assessing the patient’s mental disorder;

(b) any review under this Act or the 1995 Act of the patient’s detention; or

(c) any proceedings before the Tribunal relating to the patient.

(4) As soon as practicable after taking any steps under subsection (2) above, the appropriate person shall make a written record of the steps.

(5) In this section “the appropriate person” has the meaning given by section 260(5) of this Act.