skip to main content

Neurosurgery for OCD Legal Framework — MRCPsych Paper B MCQ

Instant feedback + full explanation. One question, done properly.

HardAnxiety & Stress-Related DisordersNeurosurgery for OCD Legal FrameworkMRCPsych Paper B

A 28-year-old woman in England has severe, treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder despite specialist pharmacological and psychological treatment. She is an informal patient and is being considered for a stereotactic ablative operation intended to destroy the functioning of targeted brain tissue for treatment of her mental disorder. Which provision of the Mental Health Act 1983 specifically governs this treatment?

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

Reveal the answer and explanation

Correct answer: A — Section 57: consent-and-second-opinion safeguards

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

B is correct. Section 57 governs neurosurgery for mental disorder where the operation destroys brain tissue or its functioning. It applies to both detained and informal patients. Subject to the emergency provisions, the patient must consent, and the statutory second-opinion process requires certification by an appointed doctor and two other appointed persons; the doctor must also certify that the treatment should be given. Section 58 concerns medication safeguards for detained patients after the initial treatment period, not ablative neurosurgery. Section 63 cannot override the specific section 57 protections. Ordinary consent alone is insufficient, and detention under section 3 is neither required nor a substitute for the patient's consent under section 57.

Reference: UK Parliament, Mental Health Act 1983, section 57 (treatment requiring consent and a second opinion), as amended. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1983/20/pdfs/ukpga_19830020_en.pdf