Approved Clinician - Approval via the Portfolio Route
Approved Clinicians (ACs) are mental health professionals who have the appropriate approvals in place to enable them to make some decisions under the Mental Health Act 1983. A Responsible Clinician (RC), who has overall responsibility for a person’s care and treatment under the Mental Health Act, must be an AC for example. ACs are approved by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, or persons or bodies exercising the approval function on behalf of the Secretary of State. This approval function is currently discharged by four regional approval panels across England, under authority delegated by the Secretary of State for Health.
Historically, the AC role has primarily been taken up by doctors on the General Medical Council (GMC) Specialist Register for Psychiatry. In recent years however, and particularly following the National Institute for Mental Health in England’s New Roles publication in 2008 and subsequent Statutory Instructions from the Secretary of State, there has been increase in the number of ACs from other eligible professional groups.
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