Widening the scope of the hybrid order.
Hybrid orders under section 45A of the Mental Health Act allow for convicted mentally disordered offenders to be given a sentence of imprisonment and simultaneously transferred to hospital for psychiatric treatment. In England and Wales their use is limited to patients with psychopathic disorder and the order has been little used. Two recent judgments by the House of Lords and the Court of Appeal have interpreted the law in a manner which widens its scope, allowing treatment of a greater range of offenders under the order, including offenders with co-morbid mental illness.
Whyte
Séan
S
Three Bridges Regional Secure Unit, West London Mental Health NHS Trust, Uxbridge Road, Southall UB1 3EU. sean.whyte@nhs.net
Gupta
John
J
D003416:Criminal Law / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004739:England; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D008605:Mental Health Services; D011329:Prisoners / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology*; D011330:Prisons