Section 8 of the Act inserts a new requirement into the 1983 Act, in line with the principle of therapeutic benefit, that when considering whether medical treatment under the 1983 Act is "appropriate" for a patient, consideration must be given to whether there is a reasonable prospect that the outcome of the treatment would have a therapeutic benefit for that patient. The existing definition of "medical treatment" in the 1983 Act currently requires any medical treatment for mental disorder to have a therapeutic benefit purpose by virtue of section 145 subsection (4) and this section moves that definition to the front of the 1983 Act, alongside the new definition of "appropriate medical treatment" so that both definitions, and therefore the need for therapeutic benefit to the patient, have a prominent position in the 1983 Act. The change will apply to Part 3 patients in the same manner as Part 2.
	Subsection (2) inserts a new definition of "appropriate medical treatment" into the 1983 Act to require that where medical treatment is required under the 1983 Act to be "appropriate", the treatment must have a reasonable prospect of alleviating, or preventing the worsening of, the patient’s mental disorder or one or more of its symptoms or manifestations, to ensure that therapeutic benefit is considered both in relation to the purpose and likely outcome of the treatment. A "reasonable prospect" is one where there is a reasonable possibility that a patient will derive some benefit from the treatment. This does not require the decision maker to conclude that it is more likely than not that the patient will benefit from the treatment. Further guidance on appropriate medical treatment will be provided in the Code of Practice.
	This new definition applies to the requirement in the criteria for detention under Part 2 section 3, Part 3, and for community treatment orders (CTOs) under section 17A that ‘appropriate treatment’ must be available to justify detention. This new definition means that in order for someone to be detained or to be subject to a CTO, there must be a reasonable prospect of the patient’s detention or placement on CTO resulting in a therapeutic benefit to the patient, as well as the purpose of the detention or CTO being for a therapeutic benefit.
	Subsections (3) to (11) of the section make consequential changes to other provisions of the 1983 Act, which make reference to treatment needing to be "appropriate" so that the new definition of "appropriate medical treatment" applies to them.
Appropriate medical treatment Section 8: Appropriate medical treatment: therapeutic benefit