Chance of success is irrelevant

At the conclusion of their article, (Singh & Moncrieff, 2009) the authors state that patients should be told of the chances of an appeal being successful (about 12%). This assertion is fraught with difficulty. If this information is handled badly, the patient may feel that the doctor is trying to intimidate them out of appealing. It is like saying, ‘You can appeal, if you want old boy, but your chances are only one in eight.’ Many patients already labour under the misapprehension that if they appeal, they will only make things worse for themselves and this fear will only increase if a doctor glibly tells them of the low odds of success. I always try to emphasise to patients that they should appeal, as it is their right and it will not affect their care. I would recommend that this type of information would best be provided by the patient's solicitor as part of their discussions with the client, as to their instructions. The solicitor will appear a more neutral person to impart this information than the doctor who has them compulsorily detained. Appealing for release from detention is the patient's right, not a treatment decision such as which medication or therapy to advise. As such, discussions about its success rate, if at all, should be with the patient's solicitor.