Mental Health Act - What is a Responsible Clinician (RC)?

A Responsible Clinician has overall responsibility for care and treatment for service users being assessed and treated under the Act. These responsibilities include;

• Making decisions about treatment
• Reviewing detentions
• Assessing whether the criteria for renewing detention are met
• Granting leave of absence for detained patients
• Barring the Nearest Relative from discharging the patient in specific situations.
• The power of discharge from detention.

Although the Responsible Clinician has overall responsibility decisions about the service users care and treatment are made in discussion with the multi-disciplinary team.

In guardianship cases the Responsible Clinician provides the medical recommendation for someone to be received into Guardianship by the Local Authority (rather than the hospital managers for other detentions). They are responsible for reviewing the Guardianship with the MDT and can discharge it if it is no longer required.