Section 17 Leave: supporting unpaid carers
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Section 17 Leave: supporting unpaid carers
IRAS ID
300813
Contact name
Martin Webber
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of York
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 31 days
Research summary
Friends and family members (‘carers’) often provide substantial support to people experiencing mental health problems. Sometimes individuals may be detained under the Mental Health Act (1983) (MHA) for assessment and/or treatment and need to stay in hospital for days, weeks, months or years. It is important that they maintain contact with family, friends and communities as these are helpful for their well-being. Maintaining these relationships is also important to carers. Section 17 MHA is a provision for leave from hospital, from an hour in the hospital grounds, visits to local shops, or going home for a number of days. However, carers are not always involved in decisions around s.17 leave, even where they are expected to visit or take care of someone during that leave.
During phase one (October 2020-October 2021) we interviewed carers, mental health practitioners and Responsible Clinicians (RCs) involved with s.17 leave and developed a ‘s.17 standard’, a guidance document, which defined the support to be provided to carers before, during and after s.17 leave. During phase two (November 2021-March 2023) the s.17 standard will be tried out to see how it works in practice, what it costs, and if there are signs that it makes a difference for carers. This will involve introducing the standard in selected wards (intervention) in three study sites in England and comparing the outcomes for carers with those in wards in which the new standard has not been introduced (control). Carers in both intervention and control groups will be interviewed before and after s.17 leave and again six months later. Practitioners, managers and RCs from the intervention wards will be interviewed at two time-points to discuss facilitators and barriers to implementation. Given positive signs, the standard will be refined and funding sought to test its effectiveness in improving outcomes for carers.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
21/WS/0156
Date of REC Opinion
3 Dec 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion