Responsible Clinician

Section 34 of the Mental Health Act 1983 defines the 'responsible clinician' for a patient liable to be detained under an application for admission for assessment, an application for admission for treatment, or who is a community patient, as the approved clinician with overall responsibility for the patient's case. For a patient subject to guardianship, the responsible clinician is the approved clinician authorised by the responsible local social services authority to act in that role.

The responsible clinician plays a central role in a detained patient's care, including decisions relevant to a patient's discharge or the making of a community treatment order. A patient who wants advice on how or when they were detained is directed, among others, to their responsible clinician.