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Section 17 Leave — MRCPsych Paper B MCQ

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HardMental Health LawSection 17 LeaveMRCPsych Paper B

A 55-year-old man with schizophrenia is an unrestricted civil patient detained for treatment under section 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983. Following successful periods of shorter leave from a rehabilitation unit, his responsible clinician proposes 10 consecutive days of section 17 leave at supported accommodation as a trial before longer-term community placement. Before authorising this period of leave, which issue is the responsible clinician specifically required to consider?

Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.

Reveal the answer and explanation

Correct answer: B — Whether he should instead be discharged onto a community treatment order under section 17A

Explanation lettering: C = shown as B · B = shown as C · E = shown as D · D = shown as E

The correct answer is C. Under section 17(2A) MHA 1983, inserted by the MHA 2007, the responsible clinician may not grant 'longer-term leave' — defined in section 17(2B) as leave exceeding seven consecutive days, or extension of leave so the total exceeds seven days — without first considering whether the patient should instead be dealt with under section 17A, i.e. a community treatment order. Longer leave remains lawful if judged more suitable, but the comparison and reasons should be documented. The stem's discriminators matter: he is an unrestricted section 3 patient (CTO-eligible) and the proposed leave is 10 consecutive days. Guardianship (B) may feature in wider discharge planning but is not the statutory prerequisite. Long leave does not itself trigger a managers' tribunal referral (A). Section 117 aftercare (D) continues to apply and can support patients on leave; it is not ended before leave. Section 3 cannot be 'converted' back to section 2 (E).

Reference: Mental Health Act 1983, section 17(2A)–(2B) (as amended by the Mental Health Act 2007), legislation.gov.uk. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1983/20/section/17 ; see also Mental Health Act 1983: Code of Practice (2015), chapter 27, GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-mental-health-act-1983