Estimated reading time at 200 wpm: 2 minutes
In legal circles we talk a lot about “availability of appropriate treatment” under the Mental Health Act 1983 [England & Wales] (Amended 2007). But let’s stop for a second and actually unpack what “available” is supposed to mean. Because in JB v Elysium Healthcare (2025), a Tribunal – considered to be a court of law – was served a legal fiction dressed up as therapeutic fact. [Just get the gist below]
Think of it this way: Imagine you walk into a restaurant get seated and look at the menu. You then say to the lovely and attentive waitress, “I’ll have the Kung Po Prawns, please.” The waitress nods, disappears into the kitchen, and then returns with, “Ah, so sorry we usually have the Kung Po Prawn, just not tonight. Maybe next week—when the chef’s back. Or the prawns arrive. Or someone finds the wok.”
Whether or not you agree our Fat Disclaimer applies
Now replace the restaurant with a secure hospital. Replace the prawns with psychological therapy. And replace the customer with a detained patient—whose liberty turns on whether that therapy is actually offered, not hypothetically cookable.
In clinical evidence before the Tribunal, it was submitted that the ‘Kung Po Prawns’ were ‘available’. The Tribunal relied on that menu promise to justify JB’s continued detention. But what turned up? Nothing. Not even the plate. JB’s Responsible Clinician misled the Tribunal! [As stated in the UTT judgment – ‘misled’ is not my word.]
Let’s be clear: availability under the MHA means treatment is ready to serve—not out of stock, “under review,” or dependent on invisible staffing rotas. It’s the medical equivalent of saying, “Roll up your sleeve—we can give you the jab now.” Not, “Well… maybe next month, if we get the stuff in.”
Why does this matter? Because for patients like JB, every day of delay isn’t a culinary inconvenience—it’s a deprivation of liberty under force of law.
And no one should be force-fed detention on the basis of an empty dish! – FFS! Spread the word – spread the link to this article.
