TW v Enfield Borough Council [2014] EWCA Civ 362, [2014] All ER (D) 292 (Mar)
Court of Appeal, Civil Division, Arden, Aikens and Clarke LJJ, 27 Mar 2014
The Court of Appeal has considered the test of “reasonably practicable” in s 11(4) of the Mental Health Act 1983.
Michael Paget & Helen Curtis (instructed by DH Law Ltd) for W. Amanda Weston (instructed by London Borough of Enfield) for the authority.
The applicant, W, was an adult who suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder. She made clear that she did not wish to be admitted to hospital, nor did she want her family to be consulted by the medical team or for details of her condition to be given to them. An application was made by an approved social worker (ASW) employed by the respondent local authority for her compulsory admission to hospital pursuant to s 13(1) of the Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA 1983). Under the version of MHA 1983 in force at the time, the social worker was obliged to consult the person who appeared
