Essential Mental Health Act Flashcards
Aim of Mental health Act
Promotes rights of those with mental disabilities.
To improve mental health service delivery.
To protect the health and safety of the public where mentally ill person may be dangerous to him/herself or others as a result of illness.
MHCA: Mental Illness
a positive diagnosis of a MH-related illness ito accepted diagnostic criteria made by a MHCP authorised to do so
DSM: Mental Illness
A syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotional regulation, or behaviour that reflects dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental processes underlying neural functioning.
Usually associated with:
- Significant distress or disability.
NOT an expectable or culturally approved response to a common stressor or loss.
NOT socially deviant behaviour (eg. political, religious, sexual) or conflicts between the individual and society unless this is a result of a dysfunction in the individual as described above.
Who is treated?
Patient suffering from a mental illness or severe/profound intellectual disability who:
- needs treatment
can be treated.
- is incapable of making informed decision.
- is a risk to self or others.
- refuses treatment (involuntary).
This includes any patient:
- Whatever the mental illness.
- Where a delay in care may result in: death/irreversible harm, risk of user inflicting serious harm to self or others or causes serious damage to or loss of property.
Excluded (not absolute)
Suspected mental illness.
Substance intoxication or withdrawal.
Personality disorder without comorbid mental illness/ MI not current focus.
Malingering.
3 questions you should ask yourself
- Is the a medical condition?
- Substances on board?
- Is this a primary mental illness? If yes do they have capacity to consent, willing to consent, and is there risk.
Admission: Risk to self
Intentional/incidental harm, non-adherence, substance use, finances, reputation.
Admission: Risk to others
intentional/accidental harm
Admission: risk by others
Neglect, exploitation, abuse (verbal, physical, financial, emotional)
Admission: risk to property
neglect, damage
Voluntary Admission
User is ill or needs help, competent, consents.
Assisted admission
User is ill and needs help, evident risk, lacks capacity, consents.
Involuntary admission
User is ill and needs help, evident risk, lacks capacity, refuses Tx.
Must consider
Patient rights.
Freedom of choice.
Safety of patient.
Safety of community.
Least restrictive principle.
Consent issues.
