Best interests must be centred on the person's needs not those of the family.

Richard Griffith, Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, discusses the importance of not allowing unreasonable family demands for care influence the determination of best interests for a person who lacks capacity.

Residual liberty and the detained mental health patient.

Richard Griffith, Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, considers the notion of residual liberty and the need for further authorisation when a detained patient is given treatment for a physical disorder under restraint.

Applying the appropriate treatment test in the Mental Health Act 1983.

Richard Griffith, Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, considers two cases from the Upper Tribunal appeals chamber that clarify the application of the appropriate treatment test in the Mental Health Act 1983.

Capacity, belief and impairment of the mind or brain.

Richard Griffith, Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, considers the implications of a recent Court of Protection ruling for nurses who undertake mental capacity assessments.

The provision of aftercare under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Richard Griffith, Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, discusses a UK Supreme Court decision that clarified which aftercare body was responsible for funding services under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Managing the interface between two Acts relevant to the deprivation of liberty.

Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, considers the judgment in Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v JS [2023], which provides much needed clarity on the interface between the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to authorise a deprivation of liberty.

Body modification and the limits to consent.

Richard Griffith, Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, considers the limits to personal autonomy using body modification to illustrate the legal principles of consent.

Deprivation of liberty and children with complex needs: a new specialist court.

Richard Griffith, Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, considers the role of the National Deprivation of Liberty Court in authorising care arrangements for children that amount to a deprivation of liberty.

Ensuring the necessity of best interests determinations.

Richard Griffith, Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, discusses the requirement that acts and decisions made in a person's best interests are a necessary and proportionate interference in their life.

Use of hospital and limitation directions under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Richard Griffith, Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, considers the use of hospital and limitation directions when sentencing a person with a mental disorder who has been found guilty of a crime.

Insanity as a defence to a criminal charge.

Richard Griffith, Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, considers the availability of the special verdict and common law insanity defence in cases where a person with a mental disorder faces a criminal charge.

Consent and the requirement for accessible information.

Richard Griffith, Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, considers the importance of accessible information when obtaining consent from patients.

Nurses at risk of multiple jeopardy over allegations of unprofessional behaviour.

Richard Griffith, Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, considers the concept of multiple jeopardy faced by nurses who are accused of unprofessional behaviour.

Leave of absence under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Richard Griffith, Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, considers a recent decision of the Upper Tribunal that limits the use of leave of absence provisions when testing a detained patient's rehabilitation.

Treatment as a whole approach to intervention without consent.

Richard Griffith, Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, discusses this provision under the Mental Health Act 1983, to include physical disorders that are increasingly remote from the person's mental disorder.