Persuasion, coercion, medical paternalism or the Mental Health Act: the dilemma of detention in the general hospital.

This paper describes the cases of three patients where the question of the need for formal detention arose due to mental disorder, apparently primarily due to physical illness, which in each case required further investigation and treatment in a general hospital. It states some of the issues facing those caring for patients under these circumstances and offers advice on overcoming some of the problems.