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Section 117 Aftercare

Information for practitioners on s117 aftercare

Section 117 Aftercare

Section 117 (S117) is the statutory duty on both health and local authorities to provide aftercare for people who have been detained under certain sections of the Mental Health Act (1983/2007). The purpose of s117 aftercare services is to meet the individual's needs arising from or related to their mental health condition and reduce the risk of deterioration of the person's mental health condition (and accordingly the risk of readmission).

Further information can be found in the section 117 policy.

A person should only be discharged from the aftercare provisions of s117 if the responsible multi-disciplinary team (MDT) and mental health funding panel or CLDS/ILDP Quality Assurance Panel are satisfied that the person is now equipped to manage life outside hospital and services are not needed to prevent readmission for treatment of a mental disorder.

If the MDT consider that a person no longer requires s117 aftercare, a representative from the MDT will present the recommendation and reasoning to the mental health panel or the CLDS/ILDP Quality Assurance Panel, who will make the final decision regarding discharge. If the MDT do not agree on discharge both the responsible clinician and care coordinator should attend the appropriate panel to present both opinions and clinical views.

Panel members can also request a discharge from s117 aftercare. 

If the panel cannot reach a decision this should be escalated to Director level of both Adult Social Care and the CCG.

When a person is discharged from s117 aftercare this will be recorded on a Discharge from s117 aftercare form (appendix 2 of the policy) and contain:

  • a full explanation of how the decision was reached,
  • the plans to provide any other care outside of s117 and
  • the names of the decision makers involved in this process.

This information will be uploaded on the local authority data base as well as Care Notes and shared with any future care providers. The intention for all service users is to improve mental health and recovery.

The person will be notified of the decision using the confirmation of discharge pro forma letter. The person and carer/s (where the user consents) will be consulted, but cannot veto decisions, which rest with Health and Adult Social Care professionals.

The Care Coordinator is responsible for recording the discharge on the s117 form in the assessment tab on EPR and equivalent Local Authority database.

If an individual is discharged from s117 and readmitted under qualifying provisions they would recommence entitlement to s117 aftercare when they are discharged from hospital.

Last updated: 25 May 2023