1. I am detained under Sections 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act 1987. A person may be detained under Section 37 alone: it happens often.
(i). Section 41 is a restrictive component. It is imposed where the person is thought to be especially dangerous. The Secretary of State for Justice becomes responsible for that person's detention: restrictions may not be relaxed without the Secretary of State's permission and he decides when the person should be released and under what conditions.
(ii). With Section 37 alone, the hospital makes decisions regarding restrictions and discharge from detention.
(iii). People detained under Section 41 are detained for considerably longer and are more likely to have conditions (where they may live, etc.) imposed on them, usually for several years after release.
2. The psychiatrist responsible for my care was a witness at the Crown Court. He advised the Court to impose sections 37 and 41. He said data showed that people on whom section 41 had been imposed were far less likely to be violent or to be detained again after release.
(i). The Judge ejaculated:
"That's what I like in psychiatry: it relies on hard facts and data!"
And then he imposed section 41.
3. When we returned to the Hospital, I asked the psychiatrist to produce the data he had cited in court. At first he refused; eventually he admitted it did not exist.
4. I reported to the GMC and its Chief Executive, the Chief Executive and each member of the board of the NHS Trust detaining me that the Psychiatrist had perjured himself before the Crown Court, and Section 41 appeared to have been imposed as a direct consequence of that perjury.
(i). The GMC did not deny the psychiatrist had perjured himself: it refused to act because it said it did not consider the matter to be of sufficient gravity.
(ii). The Board did not deny he had perjured himself. It too refused to act and could not explain why.