If a Second Opinion Appointed Doctor (SOAD) has been arranged, they will try to speak to you to consider your views about treatment.
You may meet the SOAD face-to-face, or speak to them over the phone or on a computer. It may not always be possible to arrange this in the way that you would prefer.
If you do not wish to speak to a SOAD, you can tell your care team. The SOAD will then decide whether to carry out their second opinion without speaking to you. They will still try to understand what you think about your treatment by speaking to people involved in your care and looking at your records.
Your care team will tell you when you will speak to the SOAD and who the SOAD is.
You may want to:
The SOAD will speak to you in private where this is possible. You can ask the SOAD if you would like other people to be there to support you and the SOAD should consider this. For example, you could choose to have a family member, friend, peer support worker or IMHA at the meeting with you. The SOAD may ask other people to be present if they believe this is necessary. They may also ask other people to leave so they can speak to you alone. This is to make sure you can speak openly and they can see how your mental health is.
The SOAD may also speak to your family or carers if they believe this is appropriate.
A SOAD will not tell you what their decision is during your meeting. This is because they will not have decided on this yet.
The SOAD must also speak to 2 people professionally involved in your care, such as a nurse and a social worker.
A SOAD will receive information about your care and treatment from your records and may also talk to your doctor to understand more about your treatment and the reasons for this.
The SOAD will decide whether some, all or none of your treatment is appropriate. If the SOAD approves your treatment to start or continue, they will fill in a certificate that says what treatment you can be given.
The SOAD will usually write why they have made their decision on their certificate although sometimes their explanation can be written separately. The SOAD will give their certificate to the hospital managers as soon as possible. They will also write down their reasons if they do not approve some or all of your treatments.
The SOAD is independent of the hospital, and they must make their own decision about what treatment is appropriate for you. If you do not agree with their decision, you cannot appeal to us about this.
Your doctor is personally responsible for telling you the outcome and what that means for you and your treatment. They may share the SOAD’s written reasons with you unless they think that doing so would be likely to cause serious harm to your physical or mental health or to that of others.
Once a SOAD has given a certificate, your doctor can, but does not have to, give you the treatment described on this. Your doctor is responsible for deciding what treatment you receive within the limits written down by the SOAD on their certificate. You should continue to talk to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns about your treatment.
Under the law of the Mental Health Act, the treatment on a SOADs certificate must be checked in the future. Your doctor must write a report about your treatment if your detention is renewed. This report must be sent to us. A different SOAD will check that report to see whether they agree that your treatment is still the best for you. If they do not agree, we will contact your doctor to ask for more information or to review your treatment.
A SOAD can only make decisions on treatments to do with your mental health. They cannot make decisions on treatments for your physical health.
The SOAD will check whether the recommended treatment is clinically appropriate and that your views and rights have been considered.
A SOAD may make decisions on:
You should talk to your care team about these, and you can seek support from an IMHA.