Section 12 amends the 1983 Act by inserting new section 56(B) to clarify the role of the regulatory authority (the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in England and in Wales, the Healthcare Inspectorate Wales) in appointing a second opinion appointed doctor, referred to previously in the 1983 Act as a ‘registered medical practitioner appointed for the purposes of this Part of the Act by the regulatory authority’.
	The second opinion appointed doctor acts independently, and under the amendments made by the 2025 Ac will be responsible for assessing if, for instance, the patient’s compulsory treatment has a therapeutic benefit (in line with the new definition of appropriate treatment as introduced by section 8 of the Act). In addition, they will need to assess if the new duty on clinicians to follow a clinical checklist, which includes (among other things) consideration of the patient’s past and present wishes and preferences and an evaluation of available treatment alternatives, has been followed. By making it the responsibility of the second opinion appointed doctor to provide an independent check on whether these new and important safeguards are upheld, we further embed the principles of therapeutic benefit and choice and autonomy in clinical decision making.
Treatment Section 12: Appointment of doctors to provide second opinions