The term<unk> " is used in the Mental Health Act 1983, an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 136 of the Act gives police officers the power to remove an apparently mentally disordered person who is in a public<unk>  and is apparently a danger to himself or to other people, to a<unk> " where they may be assessed by a doctor. Section 135 of the Act gives police powers to remove a person who is not in a public<unk>  to a<unk>  after the issue of a warrant by a Justice of the<unk> . According to a unilateral statement by the Home Office,<unk>  should typically be hospitals, other medical facilities, residential care homes or the home of a relative or friend of the person; police stations should only be used as a<unk> " as a last resort. In practice, local agreements between local authorities, NHS Trusts and police constabularies are in<unk> , designating certain establishments as<unk> . The owners or managers of an establishment acting as a<unk>  have a legal obligation to ensure that a detained person cannot leave the premises until he or she has been fully assessed, which may take up to 24 hours. Invariably, therefore, to ensure safeguarding of both the detained person and the public,<unk>  are typically restricted to psychiatric hospitals and police custody suites, and tend to exclude open general hospital wards and accident and emergency departments. For the same reason, it is most unusual for friends' or relatives' homes to be designated<unk> . The decision whether to detain a particular person in a psychiatric hospital or in police custody is also subject to local agreements. It is a common arrangement for people to be taken to a psychiatric hospital unless they have a history of violence or are thought to be under the influence of alcohol or recreational drugs, in which cases they would be taken into police custody.
Place of safety
Patient group directions
Scope of practice
Public security
Drug packaging
Guaranteed issue
Prescription charges
Variant of concern