Mental health law assessments: interagency cooperation and practice complexities.

Background: Assessments under mental health law, to determine whether compulsory admission is necessary, tend to be complex, multidisciplinary and inter-agency processes. This article presents the results of a regional audit of assessments under the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986.

Aims: The aims of the audit were to examine routine practice, identify any issues and so inform how policy and practice may be developed.