Section 136 assessments in Trafford Borough of Manchester

PurposeThe aim of this study is to ascertain a trend of the section 136 assessments over a period of time and compare it with the standards laid down by the code of practice.Design/methodology/approachThe study looks at trends over a period of eight months since the opening of the section 136 services. The demographic details such as age, gender, and ethnicity were recorded. The other variables recorded include reason for using section 136, the place of assessment, time of referral, total time of assessment, the assessors undertaking the assessment, outcome of referral, whether the patient was under the influence of alcohol and suffered any concomitant physical problems and whether the police were present during the assessmentFindingsA total of 45 assessments were undertaken under section 136 of the Mental Health Act. The majority (93.3 percent) of the assessments were done in section 136 suite. Threats to self harm (35.5 percent) was the most common reason of detention. Mood disorders were the commonest diagnosis (22.2 percent each). A total of 17 (37.8 percent) of the patients detained were admitted to the inpatient units.Research limitations/implicationsIt was noticed that rate of section 136 assessments decreased over months after an initial surge. It was also noted that the conversion rate of admissions was low which raises questions about the rightful use of section 136 detentions.Practical implicationsIt will be interesting to conduct future studies to find out the reasons for the surge in the use of section 136 detentions when a new service is set up for the same. It also need to be noted that the conversion rate was low which raises the appropriateness of section 136 detentions, together with the finding that one‐third of the detained patients had a discharge diagnosis of alcohol and drug problems raises the possibility whether section 136 is overused among this group.Originality/valuePreviously studies have been conducted regarding the section 136 assessments but this study monitors all the variables identified, to be monitored, by the code of practice.