Mental Health Act 1959

34 Effect of guardianship application, etc.

(1) Where a guardianship application, duly made under the foregoing provisions of this Act and forwarded to the local health authority within the period allowed by subsection (2) of this section, is accepted by that authority, the application shall, subject to regulations made by the Minister, confer on the authority or person therein named as guardian, to the exclusion of any other person, all such powers as would be exercisable by them or him in relation to the patient if they or he were the father of the patient and the patient were under the age of fourteen years.

(2) The period within which a guardianship application is required for the purposes of this section to be forwarded to the local health authority is the period of fourteen days beginning with the date on which the patient was last examined by a medical practitioner before giving a medical recommendation for the purposes of the application.

(3) A guardianship application which appears to be duly made and to be founded on the necessary medical recommendations may be acted upon without further proof of the signature or qualification of the person by whom the application or any such medical recommendation is made or given, or of any matter of fact or opinion stated therein.

(4) If within the period of fourteen days beginning with the day on which a guardianship application has been accepted by the local health authority the application, or any medical recommendation given for the purposes of the application, is found to be in any respect incorrect or defective, the application or recommendation may, within that period and with the consent of that authority, be amended by the person by whom it was signed; and upon such amendment being made the application or recommendation shall have effect and shall be deemed to have had effect as if it had been originally made as so amended.

(5) A patient who is received into guardianship in pursuance of a guardianship application may apply to a Mental Health Review Tribunal within the period of six months beginning with the day on which the application is accepted, or with the day on which he attains the age of sixteen years, whichever is the later.

(6) Where a patient is received into guardianship in pursuance of a guardianship application, any previous application under this Part of this Act by virtue of which he was subject to guardianship or liable to be detained in a hospital shall cease to have effect.