Under the Mental Health Act 2014 (the Act) the Chief Psychiatrist is responsible for the treatment and care of all Involuntary patients, Mentally Impaired Accused (MIA) persons detained in an authorised hospital, persons referred under section 26(2) or (3)(a) or 36(2) and those under an order made under section 55(1)(c) or 61(1)(c), as well as all patients of the Mental Health Act 2014 designated mental health services. This responsibility must be discharged by publishing standards for treatment and care to be provided by mental health services and overseeing compliance with those standards.
The Chief Psychiatrist also has the following statutory responsibilities:
- Requests for reports
- Review of treatment
- Power of inspection
- Power of Disclosure
- Monitoring of notifiable incidents
- Preparation of an annual report
The Chief Psychiatrist is supported by a Deputy Chief Psychiatrist and a team of staff who assist in the discharge of his statutory responsibilities whilst ensuring the rights of people with lived experience of mental illness are upheld.