As set out above in section 36, sections 47 and 48 of the 1983 Act allow the Secretary of State to transfer mentally disordered persons from prisons and other places of detention to hospital for treatment. Section 37 introduces a statutory 28-day time limit within which agencies must seek to ensure individuals who meet the criteria for detention under the Act are transferred to hospital for treatment.
	NHS England and HMPPS have already taken steps to encourage health and justice agencies to work towards a 28-day window for transfers from prison and other places of detention to hospital. In 2021, NHS England published good practice guidance on the transfer and remission of adult prisoners and other detainees under the 1983 Act which stressed that transfers should not exceed 28 days from the point of initial referral for assessment. Section 37 adopts an approach consistent with this good practice guidance and goes further by enshrining this time limit in primary legislation to reduce significant delays in individuals accessing treatment.
	This provision supports the overarching principles of therapeutic benefit and the person as an individual by seeking to reduce the maximum length of time that a patient in prison or another place of detention, such as an immigration removal centre or youth detention accommodation, may have to wait to access inpatient treatment. For example, pending transfer, a patient’s mental health may further deteriorate due to them not being able to receive the care they need in a custodial setting. Under section 37, this new power will seek to ensure that transfers to an appropriate hospital take place more swiftly.
Patients concerned in criminal proceedings or under sentence Section 37: Transfers from Prison to hospital: time limits