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Rescinding responsibilities as nearest relative and displacing the nearest relative

William Osler House, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 6DU

Clive Adams, Clinical Lecturer^*

University Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX

^* Correspondence

A case report is presented which highlights two important, but rarely evoked, aspects of mental health law. In this case, the mentally ill person's nearest relative did not wish to act as such and rescinded his responsibility in favour of another. This other person objected to the use of section 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983 and displacement of her as nearest relative was considered. Some cases from the literature are cited to help clarify the meaning of "unreasonable objection" as used in the Mental Health Act 1983.