Mental Health Act PolicyA Mental Health Act Policy written for your service
- Written for your organisation, not a template with your logo on it
- Read and approved by a person before it carries your name
- Verified against all 21 required elements of the legislation below
- Kept updated when the law changes, so it never quietly goes stale
No subscription needed. First year of updates included, £12 a year after that.
One-off, first year of updates included. Delivered within 2 working days of your details.
Trusted by UK care providers
Let's build your Mental Health Act Policy
Answer 7 quick questions, about three minutes, and we'll write this policy for your service, in your name, with your people. You can skip anything and add it later.
Asked once, reused for every policy you buy
That's everything we need
0 of 7 answered. You can add the rest at any point before we write it.
- Registered company name
- Trading name (if different)
- Service address
- CQC provider ID
- CQC location ID
- Registered manager
- Nominated individual
Your answers are saved on this device and carried into your order.
Built from the law, checked against the law
The legislation, CQC standards and guidance we analyse to write it.
Your Mental Health Act Policy is structured from these regulations, then verified against every required element of each one before a person signs it off. If the law changes, your policy is updated and you are told what changed and why.
Mental Capacity Act 2005
- States that capacity is assessed decision-specific and time-specific, not once on admission or generically, and by the person making the decision
- Requires that before concluding a resident lacks capacity, all practicable steps are taken to support the decision (hearing aids, glasses, interpreter, easy-read information, appropriate time of day, quiet location, repeated attempts, trusted person present)
- Confirms that residents retain the right to make unwise decisions and that disagreement with a decision does not constitute evidence of incapacity
- Defines restraint by what is actually happening (keypads, bedrails, sensor mats, lap belts, covert medication) and require that each is lawful only if staff reasonably believe it necessary and proportionate to prevent harm
- Requires best interests decisions to be based on the individual resident's wishes, feelings, beliefs and values, with consultation of people who know them, not what is medically optimal or what the home prefers
- Requires instruction of an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) when there is nobody to consult and the decision is serious
Mental Health Act 1983
- States that the care home cannot detain any resident under the Mental Health Act 1983 (sections 2, 3 or any other section), as the power to detain sits with hospitals and responsible clinicians only
- Requires staff to identify and record the responsible clinician, conditions of leave, and recall triggers for any resident arriving on a Community Treatment Order (CTO) or section 17 leave
- Prohibits the home from enforcing CTO or section 17 leave conditions by restricting or locking residents in, clarifying that the home has no enforcement powers under these orders
- Distinguishes guardianship powers (which can require residence at the home) from powers to deprive liberty or treat without consent, which guardianship does not authorise
- Requires that residents placed as section 117 aftercare (following detention under sections 3, 37, 45A, 47 or 48) receive their placement free of charge with no financial assessment and no family top-up fees
- Identifies that the nearest relative (as defined in section 26) has statutory powers and must be engaged, and from 2025 reforms onwards this becomes a patient-chosen nominated person with standing to receive information
Written for your service
What we ask you, so none of it is assumed.
Most policy packs are one document sold to everyone with a find and replace on the home name. Your Mental Health Act Policy is written from the legislation above and from your answers to the questions below. Where you have told us something, it says so. Where you have not, it sets out what must happen rather than claiming you already do it.
Your registered name, address, CQC numbers and who holds the key roles. About three minutes. Nothing else is asked before you buy.
Asked once in your own account and used across every policy you own, so a second policy never asks you the same thing twice.
Why it matters. A policy that claims you assess your premises annually, when you never have, is not a harmless overstatement. It is a signed statement handed to your inspector. We would rather write what you must do than guess what you already do.
How it is made
From your details to a policy you can stand behind.
The short questions above: who you are, your CQC registration, and the people this policy names.
One section per required element of the legislation, in your name, with your people.
Automated checks against every required element, then a person reads it before it ships.
When legislation changes, your policy is updated and you are told what changed and why.
Common questions
What you are actually buying.
What exactly do I receive?
A complete Mental Health Act Policy written for your organisation, in your dashboard and as a print-ready PDF on your own letterhead. It names your service, your registration details and your leads, because you gave us them.
Is this a template?
No. Each policy is written for the organisation buying it, structured from the legislation itself, verified against 21 required regulatory elements, and read by a person before it carries your name.
How quickly will I get it?
Within 2 working days of you completing the short questions above. Most arrive sooner.
What happens when the law changes?
We monitor UK care legislation continuously. When something affecting this policy changes, your copy is updated and you are told what changed and why. The first year of updates is included, then £12 a year per policy.
Can I edit the policy myself?
No, and deliberately so: we stand behind every word we approve. If something needs changing, tell us and we amend and re-verify it, so it always remains a document we can both defend to an inspector.
What if I need more than one policy?
Most services do. The Statutory Starter Pack covers the twenty policies every CQC-registered service is expected to hold, and the Complete Policy Library covers all 66.
Why CareStream
Policies written the way an inspector expects to read them.
Before you buy
What the document actually looks like.
Every section it contains, and a page of the real thing. We show the structure and the personalisation rather than the wording, because the wording is what you are paying us to write for your service.
Contents of your Mental Health Act Policy
- Purpose and scopewho it covers
- Legal and regulatory frameworkcited in full
- Definitions used in this policy
- Roles and responsibilitiesyour people, named
- Procedure, step by step
- Recording, reporting and escalation
- Training and competency
- Monitoring, audit and review
- Related policies and documents
- Version control and approvalsigned and dated
Section 4 · Roles and responsibilities
Who is accountable, by name
Overall accountability for this policy rests with your registered manager, supported by your nominated individual. Day to day responsibility sits with your named lead, who is the first point of contact for staff at your service address.
The remaining wording is written for the organisation buying it, so it is not shown here.
“The inspector asked for evidence and I had it on screen before she finished the sentence.”
Registered Manager · 48-bed nursing home, West SussexRelated policies
More policies your service may need.
More statutory and operational policies CareStream writes for your service, personalised, human-reviewed and kept updated, exactly like this one.
Medicines Management Policy
Ordering, storage, administration, recording and disposal of medicines, including errors and self-administration.
Mental Capacity and DoLS Policy
Capacity assessment, best-interests decisions and deprivation of liberty safeguards under the MCA 2005.
Infection Prevention and Control Policy
IPC arrangements aligned to the Code of Practice, including audit and cleaning schedules.
Consent to Care and Treatment Policy
Seeking, recording and reviewing consent, including where capacity fluctuates.
Controlled Drugs Policy
Receipt, storage, administration, recording and destruction of controlled drugs.
Care Planning Policy
Person-centred assessment, planning, review and involvement under Regulations 9 and 12.
Compared
The four ways care services get a policy.
We have compared what each approach does rather than naming competitors, because products change and the comparison should still be true next year.
| CareStream | A policy pack | A consultant | A free template | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Questions asked at the point of purchase, so it is personalised rather than blank | ||||
| Written for your service, naming your manager and your leads | ||||
| Structured from the regulations, every required element checked before it is sent | ||||
| A branded companion document setting out the law it was written against | ||||
| Read and approved by a person before it carries your name | ||||
| Prints on your own letterhead with a sign-off and version block | ||||
| Named role holders update everywhere when the person changes | ||||
| Kept current when the law changes, and you are told what changed | ||||
| Turnaround stated before you buy | ||||
| Your staff can ask it questions in their own language | ||||
| What it costs | £39 to £79 per policy, one-off | £250 to £995 for the pack | A day rate, typically £400 upwards | Nothing |
Prices are the published rates of the common alternatives as at September 2026, for comparison only.
Training
Owning the policy is half of it
An inspector asks whether your staff understood it, not whether you hold it. Ninety eight modules written and kept current by us, to the same regulations, from £25.99 per staff member with no subscription.
