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Legal rights of most involuntarily detained mentally ill patients in B.C. being violated: report

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – They need to know their rights. That’s the key recommendation in a report, which found psychiatric facilities in B.C. are failing to legally protect more than two thirds of mentally ill patients who are involuntarily detained.

Ombudsperson Jay Chalke says documents required upon admission (under the Mental Health Act) are often missing, late, or improperly completed.

“What we determined was that the legal rights — protections that are in the Mental Health Act — were being complied with on admission only 28 per cent of the time across the province and I think that’s a big concern.”

The report highlights several personal cases, including a story of a woman who was held in a seclusion room without hospital staff telling her she had been involuntarily admitted. She was not told the reason for her involuntary detention nor was she notified of her rights during her detention.

When she requested a copy of her file after she was discharged, she found no form notifying her of her legal rights.

 

Chalke says in some cases, a standard rubber stamp was used to admit someone, instead of outlining a specific treatment plan.

“It’s not true that treatment and rights are mutually exclusive. Both can happen and both need to happen. The legislature has said that we can detain people only if we do certain things to make sure that their rights are protected.”

Chalke’s findings, based on a review of 1,500 records for every involuntary admission in June of 2017, show the lowest compliance rates are under Vancouver Coastal Health, Northern Health, and the Provincial Health Services Authority.

“The good news is a number of the facilities were surprised by their own poor performance when we showed them the results. They’ve already started to improve.”

He found there was no consent for treatment form for a quarter (24%) of patient admissions in B.C. and several facility directors went against the Mental Health Act in allowing psychiatric treatment of of involuntarily detained patients in cases where the patient objected to treatment and no Consent for Treatment form was filled out.

The report also says more than half of involuntary patients were not given forms that outline their legal rights — including how to get legal advice and challenge their detention.

The provincial government has accepted all 24 recommendations, which Chalke expects to have fully implemented within a couple of years.

The recommendations include:

  • Regular auditing, annual performance targets, improved records management, and increased public reporting
  • Provincial standards and guidance with mandatory training
  • Independent rights advice service

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