Thursday January 31, 2008

The latest saga of the Britney Spears tale took a new twist, as the troubled star was rushed to an LA hospital, reportedly on the orders of her new psychiatrist.

The Toxic star was taken from her Beverly Hills mansion in an ambulance today (31 January) shortly after 1a.m. to UCLA Medical Center, where she is believed to be on a ‘mental health evaluation hold’ on the orders of her psychiatrist.

Shortly before 1a.m., an ambulance, more than a dozen Los Angeles Police Department motorcycles and at least five LAPD squad cars entered Spears’s gated residence, as the waiting paparazzi gathered outside.

Around 15 minutes later, Spears was taken off the property by ambulance through a side exit.

Britney’s mum, Lynne Spears, on-off boyfriend Adnan Ghalib and close friend Sam Lutfi, followed the ambulance and the police units to the medical center.

Alli Sims, having turned up 10 minutes before the ambulance arrived, also trailed the police units.

It has been reported that Britney’s psychiatrist, who works out of UCLA Medical Center, visited her earlier in the evening, and was alarmed at her reckless driving and her conduct, and felt her condition had deteriorated.

It is alleged that he decided Britney needed to be hospitalized on a 5150 hold, which would mean she would be considered a danger to herself and others.

A US website is reporting that during her 72-hour lockdown, Spears cannot be forced to take medication against her will, but if she refuses, her psychiatrist will go to an LA court and have the singer held for another 14 days, so he can make sure she gets the right treatment.

It is the second time this month Spears has been placed on a 5150 hold.

The first occurred on January 3 when Spears refused to give up custody of her sons, Sean Preston, 2, Jayden James, 1 to Kevin Federline.

On that night, the 26-year-old singer was strapped down on a stretcher, looking dazed and confused, before being loaded onto an ambulance and taken to Cedars-Sinai hospital.