Adult Social Care Glossary, v 0.6

(1) In this Part of this Act:-- (...) "the responsible clinician" means--
(a) in relation to a patient liable to be detained by virtue of an application for admission for assessment or an application for admission for treatment, or a community patient, the approved clinician with overall responsibility for the patient's case;
(b) in relation to a patient subject to guardianship, the approved clinician authorised by the responsible local social services authority to act (either generally or in any particular case or for any particular purpose) as the responsible clinician

An approved clinician is a mental health professional approved by the secretary of state or a person or body exercising the approval function of the secretary of state. Some decisions under the Mental Health Act can only be taken by people who are approved clinicians. All responsible clinicians must be approved clinicians.

An responsible clinician is the approved clinician with overall responsibility for the case. Certain decisions (such as renewing a patient�s detention or placing a patient on a community treatment order) can only be taken by the responsible clinician.

The 2007 amendments to the Mental Health Act 1983 introduced the roles of approved clinician and responsible clinician, enabling mental health professionals other than psychiatrists to carry out duties previously performed by psychiatrists. The introduction of these roles was intended to deliver enhanced quality of care while also ensuring the best use of our skilled and professionally diverse workforce. It is therefore important to ensure the approved clinician is the clinician with the right set of skills to address the patient�s main treatment needs.