Patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 have won the right to bring a test case to seek judicial review against their hospital's smoking ban.
Chadwick Lodge Hospital, Milton Keynes, does not allow its patients to smoke inside the hospital in accordance with the Health Act 2006. However, it also bans patients from smoking outside in the hospital's grounds.
The patients are arguing that the hospital's policy is a breach of their common law right to smoke. They accept that the right to smoke inside has been curbed by the Health Act but argue that by banning their right to smoke outside, the hospital has breached the Equality Act 2010 and unlawfully breached common law.
The smoking ban was introduced at Chadwick Lodge Hospital in 2010 as part of an initiative to "promote a healthy lifestyle for all patients."
The Court of Appeal has previously ruled that a high-security hospital for sectioned patients could enforce a smoking ban that prevented patients from smoking outside.
However, Chadwick Lodge Hospital is a medium-secure unit.
The hospital says it will argue its case during the judicial review in the High Court.
Related links:
Read more on the story (Guardian)
Learn about the smoking ban (FindLaw)
Find a local litigation solicitor in your area (FindLaw)
