Section 68 of the 1983 Act places a duty on hospital managers to refer patients automatically to the Tribunal in specified circumstances. This section applies to patients who are detained in hospital under Part 2, patients detained in hospital under Part 3 who are not subject to any special restrictions ("unrestricted Part 3 patients"), and patients subject to a community treatment order.
	Section 31 of the Act amends the 1983 Act in relation to automatic referrals by hospital managers for those patients to whom section 68 of the 1983 Act applies.
	Subsection 4(b) amends section 68 subsection (2) of the 1983 Act so that the duty on hospital managers to make a referral arises on the expiry of the "relevant period". The "relevant period" is defined by the insertion of a new subsection (4A) to the 1983 Act. The "relevant period" varies depending on the type of patient as set out below. Broadly the intended effect is for automatic referrals to immediately follow the expiry of the period in which a patient could make an application to the Tribunal.
	Subsection (4)(c)(i) and (ii) amends section 68 subsection (3) of the 1983 Act so that the duty on a hospital manager to make a referral under the amended section 68 subsection (2) will not arise where a patient has exercised their right to apply as specified by section 68 subsection (3) to the Tribunal during the "relevant period". In these circumstances an automatic referral will not be necessary as the patient’s case will have already been considered by the Tribunal.
Periods for applications and references to the tribunal Section 31: References to tribunal