MHA 1983 s127

Mental Health Act 1983
(as amended)

Law as at 19/11/11 unless otherwise stated under "Amendments" heading

Part IX contents

126, 127, 128, 129, 130

All Parts

I, II, III, IV, 4A, V, VI, VIII, IX, X, Schedules

Overview of the MHA 1983
Plain text for printing
Legislation.gov.uk

Changes made by Mental Health Act 2007

• Higher penalties for offences under Act 1/10/07
• Supervised Community Treatment replaces Supervised Discharge 3/11/08

Related cases

Any cases with a hyperlink to this legislation will automatically be added here. There may be other relevant cases without a hyperlink, so please check the mental health case law page.

• Salisu v SSH [2011] UKFTT 1 (HESC) — The Applicant was guilty of misconduct within the meaning of Section 86(7)(a) Care Standards Act 2000 (convicted of ill-treatment under s127 MHA 1983) but was not unsuitable to work with vulnerable adults and children under s86(7)(b).

Cases from the new database whose pages contain a link to this page:

Case	Sentence	Summary
R v Spencer [1987] UKHL 2	Nurses' appeal against ill-treatment conviction	Six nurses appealed against convictions for ill-treating a patient contrary to s126 Mental Health Act 1959 (the old equivalent of MHA 1983 s127), three successfully.

See also

[The chapter/paragraph numbers which appear below (if any) refer to the 2008 versions of the Code of Practice and Reference Guide.]

• Reference Guide to the Mental Health Act 1983, 38. Offences and protection for acts done [Note that the chapter number relates to the old Reference Guide] — paragraphs 38.5 to 38.7

External links

• BBC, 'Winterbourne View: Care workers jailed for abuse' (26/10/12). Eleven staff were jailed for offences under s127 Mental Health Act 1983. The article sets out the sentences as follows: (1) Wayne Rogers, 32, of Kingswood, jailed for two years after admitting nine charges of ill-treatment; (2) Alison Dove, 25, of Kingswood, was jailed for 20 months for seven counts of abuse; (3) Graham Doyle, 26, of Patchway, was jailed for 20 months for seven counts of abuse; (4) Nurse Sookalingum Appoo, 59, of Downend jailed for six months for wilfully neglecting patients; (5) Nurse Kelvin Fore, 33, from Middlesbrough, also jailed for six months for wilfully neglecting patients; (6) Holly Laura Draper, 24, of Mangotsfield, pleaded guilty to two charges of abuse and was jailed for 12 months; (7) Daniel Brake, 27, of Downend, pleaded guilty to two charges of abuse and was given a six month jail sentence suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work; (8) Charlotte Justine Cotterell, 22, from Yate, pleaded guilty to one charge of abuse and was given a four-month jail term suspended for two years. Cotterell was ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work and complete 12 months supervision; (9) Michael Ezenagu, 29, from Shepherds Bush, west London, admitted two counts of abuse and was given a six month jail sentence suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work; (10) Neil Ferguson, 28, of Emerson Green, admitted one count of abuse and was given a six month jail term was suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work; (11) Jason Gardiner, 43, of Hartcliffe, who admitted two charges of abuse, was given a four month jail term was suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

• Avon and Somerset Police, 'Freedom of Information: Investigations at Winterbourne View Care Home (Investigations/Operations): Question' (17/8/12). This page gives some details of the investigation and prosecution.

Law

Ill-treatment of patients

127.—(1) It shall be an offence for any person who is an officer on the staff of or otherwise employed in, or who is one of the managers of, a hospital[, independent hospital or care home]—

(a) to ill-treat or wilfully to neglect a patient for the time being receiving treatment for mental disorder as an in-patient in that hospital or home; or

(b) to ill-treat or wilfully to neglect, on the premises of which the hospital or home forms part, a patient for the time being receiving such treatment there as an out-patient.

(2) It shall be an offence for any individual to ill-treat or wilfully to neglect a mentally disordered patient who is for the time being subject to his guardianship under this Act or otherwise in his custody or care (whether by virtue of any legal or moral obligation or otherwise).

(2A) [...]

(3) Any person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding [five years] or to a fine of any amount, or to both.

(4) No proceedings shall be instituted for an offence under this section except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Amendments