Sarah lives with her long term partner Paul, they both work full-time, they have do not have any children. Sarah’s dad died recently and suddenly, aged 58 , from a heart attack. Sarah’s mum, Cathy aged 58, is very distressed by his sudden death and this has exacerbated her obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), which she has suffered from since her early 20’s. She is increasingly depressed, refusing to leave the house and she feels she was responsible for her husbands’ death and that she should be punished. Sarah is washing her hands up to 50 times a day.
Sarah lives in a rural location, in a small semi-detached farm cottage and Sarah needs to visit her daily and at times stay with her overnight. This is putting a strain on Sarah and Paul’s relationship and also affecting Sarah’s job. Cathy is known to the local mental health team and has a community mental health nurse who visits her, but Sarah believes that her mum would benefit from hospital treatment, but Cathy disagrees. Sarah visits her mothers GP and has spoken to him about what the available options are. The GP has suggested it maybe appropriate to detain Cathy under the Mental Health Act.
It is proposed that Cathy should be sectioned under the Mental Health Act and detained in hospital for treatment