Section 134 | Correspondence Of Patients | Mental Health Act 1983 C20

134 Correspondence of patients

Mental Health Act 1983 (1983 c 20) | Legislation

134 Correspondence of patients

(1) A postal packet addressed to any person by a patient detained in a hospital under this Act and delivered by the patient for dispatch may be withheld from [the postal operator concerned]—

(a) if that person has requested that communications addressed to him by the patient should be withheld; or

(b) subject to subsection (3) below, if the hospital is [one at which high security psychiatric services are provided] and the managers of the hospital consider that the postal packet is likely—

(i) to cause distress to the person to whom it is addressed or to any other person (not being a person on the staff of the hospital); or

(ii) to cause danger to any person;

and any request for the purposes of paragraph (a) above shall be made by a notice in writing given to the managers of the hospital, [or] the [approved clinician with overall responsibility for the patient's case] . . ..

(2) Subject to subsection (3) below, a postal packet addressed to a patient detained [under this Act in a hospital at which high security psychiatric services are provided] may be withheld from the patient if, in the opinion of the