Ask the social worker...

Could you give advice on how a father, still married to his six-year-old old daughter's mother, but separated, could find out more about his wife's mental health treatment? She is currently in a mental health hospital after an incident involving the police, who held the child until the maternal grandmother could fetch her, but he doesn't know if it is voluntarily, or whether she has been sectioned. He has been told that his wife's information is confidential, but it is hard to plan what to do about his daughter's welfare if he doesn't know how long his wife will be in hospital.

Unless the father has the consent of his ex-wife to release details about her treatment, she has the right for this to remain confidential. If his wife’s care team are concerned about the welfare of his daughter, they would be likely to want to involve all those with an interest in the child’s future.

You do not say if the father has been actively involved in his daughter’s care since the separation, if he has on-going contact, or has contributed to the maintenance of the child, thus exercising his responsibilities and rights.

A mother automatically has parental responsibility for her child from birth and fathers will automatically have parental responsibility if they are, or were, married to the mother at any time

Parents do not lose parental responsibility if they divorce or separate, and this applies to both the resident and the non-resident parent.

In this situation, if his wife’s illness turned out to be severe and was compromising her ability to look after their child, the father could apply to the courts to gain parental responsibility. In considering an application from a father, the court would take the following into account:
• the degree of commitment shown by the father to his child;
• the degree of attachment between father and child;
• the father's reasons for applying for the order.

The court would then decide to accept or reject the application based on what it believed to be in the child's best interest.

The father might consider approaching the local authority in which his daughter lives to express his concern for his daughter’s welfare as they may have had contact from the police or the health services caring for his wife. If information is available that directly affects the welfare of his child, he would be entitled to be informed.

The only proviso to this is if there are any orders in place etc which prevent the father from contact, or the separation was as a result of some behaviour which would preclude him from involvement.

Without more information, it is difficult to give a definitive answer, but the important point is that he would be entitled to information if it affects his daughter’s welfare directly, but not directly to medical information about his wife.

Are people who have a diagnosis of bipolar disorder allowed to drive?

The answer is yes, but with conditions. Bipolar disorder is one of a number of conditions that you need to inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) about if you are applying for a licence.

If you already have a driver’s licence, and subsequently receive a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, you will also need to inform the DVLA.

To enable the DVLA to make a decision about whether someone with bipolar disorder can have/keep a license, they will need to be given permission to contact an individual's GP or consultant psychiatrist. What the doctor or specialist says will influence the DVLA's decision.

If a doctor has already advised someone not to drive, in accordance with the standards of fitness to drive, a person may wish to surrender their licence. If this is the case, the DVLA does not need to make enquiries into a person's fitness to drive. If someone does surrender their licence, they can reapply for it to be restored at a later date when their condition has improved, and they have their doctor's or specialist’s support.

People must stop driving during any period of acute illness, but re-licensing can be considered when they have remained well and stable for at least three months, when they are again adequately compliant with treatment, when they are free from side effects of medication that would impair their driving, and when their doctor provides a favourable report.

If someone has had four or more periods of mania or hypomania during the last 12 months, then they will need to have a period of at least six months of stability.

See Directgov – Health conditions that could affect your driving

and Directgov – Bipolar disorder and driving

and Directgov – What happens after you have told DVLA about your health condition

1) Can a patient request renewal of a section 117?

2) Also if a person on a section 117 refuses care and tells support to go away, can this be a reason also to remove the section 117?

3) Because a patient looks settled and appears to be well, is this a reason to remove a section 117?

4) Since this was removed, my brother attempted suicide twice, once taking 96 paracetamol and secondly by jumping under a train.

1) A patient cannot request a renewal of s.117 entitlement. Entitlement is sparked by one of the qualifying sections of the Mental Health Act being enacted (s.3, 37, 45A, 47 or 48), and continues until a process has taken place to formally remove entitlement. 

2) Refusal by a service user to accept services should not be a reason for removing s.117 entitlement, but staff should continue to try and engage that person, who may only be able to receive such aftercare services once they are re-admitted and recover to a more stable mental state.

3) Different services have different systems for deciding on the ending of s.117 entitlement, but in general this should not be signed off by the local authority and responsible health authority until a full review of someone’s mental health has occurred. This review should judge whether someone is really stable and well and no longer in need of aftercare. Nearest relatives should be informed that this process is taking place unless there is an injunction from the patient not to share information.

4) Removal of entitlement to s.117 aftercare should be because someone has recovered to the point where they no longer require aftercare services.

In view of what has happened to your brother, you could challenge the original decision to remove his entitlement and through a legal representative ask to see the paperwork on which this decision was based. Alternatively, you could ask for an assessment under the Mental Health Act if he would meet the criteria for a section 3 Treatment Order.