At a number of points the Act refers to "approved doctors". Section 12, which deals generally with Medical Recommenations, notes that the Secretary of State for Health will approve doctors who have "special experience in the diagnosis or treatment of mental disorder". The Secretary of State may delegate this approval, and in the past it has been delegated to Regional Health Authorities. Normally the doctors approved will be working at consultant or senior registrar level.
A Section 12 approved doctor is required to give one of the Medical Recommenations for most admission Sections, although not necessarily for emergency admission under Section 4 where only on Recommendation is required. Section 4 is intended for cases of genuine emergency and not to "cover" for lack of availability of Section 12 doctors. Therefore, it is generally regarded as good practice for hospitals/NHS Trusts to have a rota providing for a Section 12 doctor always to be available.