Powers of Official Visitors

The Mental Health Act 1996 (section 190) states that the powers of the Official Visitors appointed to the Council of Official Visitors include:

An official visitor or a panel may, whether or not notice has been given, visit a place where any affected person is detained, cared for, or treated. The visit may be at any time and for as long as the official visitor or panel sees fit. In the course of the visit the official visitor or any person on the panel, as the case requires, may - inspect any part of the place;see any affected person at the place who has not declined to be seen;make enquiries relating to the admission, detention, care, treatment, or control of affected persons; subject to subsection (5), inspect - any medical record or other document or any thing relating to an affected person; or any other record or document required by this Act to be kept at the place. The Act provides a number of rights for the affected person in relation to the powers of the Official Visitors, specifically section 190 An affected person has - the right to decline to be seen by an official visitor or any person on the panel; and the right to deny an official visitor or any person on the panel, access to the person's medical records. Official Visitors do not have the power to show or "go through" the medical record with an affected person. They are also not empowered to release information contained in the medical record to the affected person or any other person except as authorised by Section 206 of the Act (excluding authority to divulge with the affected person's consent).