The validity of emergency recommendations for compulsory psychiatric care.

Retrospective scrutiny of the documents authorising 240 consecutive emergency detentions to a Glasgow psychiatric hospital over a three-year period revealed that 15 per cent were incorrectly completed. Fourteen documents (5.8%) failed to meet a list of minimum requirements supplied by the Central Legal Office and were therefore invalid. Invalid documentation was associated with a failure to use the recommended form. In practice, these documents were recognised at the hospital of detention and patients were either properly detained, informally admitted, or in three cases, discharged. It is suggested that doctors who make Emergency Recommendations without using the printed form should always discuss the wording of their letter with the receiving psychiatrist who should in turn be familial with the six minimum requirements of the Central Legal Office.