Facts: H had a long history of paranoid schizophrenia and hospital admissions but his mother had indicated that she objected to a further planned compulsory admission. Oxford applied to court for an order under section 29(3) of the MHA 1983, displacing H’s mother as his nearest relative. The judge granted an interim order, at a hearing that Oxford had not notified to the mother, although it could have done, therefore she had not been represented.

Judgment: Beatson J held that Oxford’s failure to notify the mother was very poor practice, and that it would have been good practice for the court to undertake enquiries with a view to possibly adjourning until the mother had been notified, but that, nonetheless, the interim displacement order remained valid, so that H’s detention on its basis had been valid.