Section 5(4) Duration — MRCPsych Paper B MCQ
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Correct answer: E — 6 hours
The correct answer is E: 6 hours. Section 5(4) is an emergency holding power available to a nurse of the prescribed class for an eligible hospital inpatient receiving treatment for mental disorder. It lasts for up to six hours, but ends earlier if a doctor or approved clinician able to use section 5(2) arrives. It cannot be renewed. Seventy-two hours is the maximum period associated with the doctor’s or approved clinician’s holding power under section 5(2). Twenty-eight days is the maximum initial duration of detention for assessment under section 2. Twenty-four hours and four hours are not the statutory maximum for section 5(4).
Reference: Department of Health, Mental Health Act 1983: Code of Practice, Chapter 18, paragraph 18.25, 2015. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-mental-health-act-1983