Consent to treatment
Informal patients (over the age of 16) have the right to refuse treatment except in the case of an emergency when a patient who lacks the "capacity" to consent may be treated under the common law doctrine of necessity.

Formal (detained) patients under Section 2 and 3 can be compelled to take medication against their will for the first three months of their detention.
The compulsory administration of medication cannot continue without the consent of a Second Opinion Appointed Doctor (SOAD). A patient detained under Section 5(2) who has the capacity to consent can only be treated if he or she consents to treatment.

Special rules apply to specific treatments such as electro-convulsive treatment (ECT) and psychosurgery. But both, under Section 58 and 57 respectively, require consent and a Second Opinion Appointed Doctor (SOAD) to approve. In certain circumstances under Section 62 of the Act urgent medical treatment may be given to a detained patient without consent or SOAD approval.

Nearest Relative
Section 26 of the Mental Health Act defines who, if anybody, is your nearest relative under the Act. In order of priority it is your:

husband or wife;
son or daughter;
father or mother;
brother or sister;
grandparent;
grandchild;
uncle or aunt;
nephew or niece;

• The right to ask an Approved Social Worker to assess your relative for compulsory admission to psychiatric hospital.
• The right to apply for your relative to be admitted compulsorily to psychiatric hospital. This application must be accompanied by two medical recommendations, one at least from a psychiatrist.
• The right to refuse consent for your relative to be compulsorily admitted to hospital under Section Three (though this right can be removed by the courts).
• The right to discharge your relative if they are compulsorily detained in psychiatric hospital.
• Under Section 132 the managers of a hospital have the duty to provide a formal patient with information on:

  - The section she or he is detained under
  - His or her right to apply to a Mental Health Review Tribunal and/or appeal to the Hospital Managers
  - His or her right to be discharged
  - Consent to treatment rules
  - Correspondence rules
  - The Mental Health Act Commission, its obligation to protect detained patients and its codes of practice.