A review of 100 applications of section 5(4) Mental Health Act.

: Section 5(4) of the Mental Health Act (1983) allows nurses to detain a psychiatric inpatient for up to six hours before a doctor arrives. This article reviews the use of Section 5(4) in 100 cases in North Cheshire between 1985 and 1992. Doctors supported every nurse's decision to detain a patient. Patients detained under Section 5(4) were more likely to be converted to other sections. This suggests that the nurse's decision to detain the patient is a useful predictor of outcome.