Laws the Govern Professional Behaviour

Question 1

What is the NSW Mental Health Act (2007)

Answer 1

Law that governs the care and treatment of people with a mental illness.
- Replaced the 1990 Act

Key principles:
- people are entitled to the best care and treatment, least interference with freedom / rights and dignity
- treatment ensures proper protections of the patient and the public
- the adverse effects of mental illness on family life are minimized

Question 2

Who does the NSW Mental Health act (2007) apply to?

Answer 2

Provision for the care of :
- Voluntary patients: admitted to a mental health facility voluntarily
- Involuntary patients: are admitted to or detained in a mental health facility against their wishes
- Required to receive treatment in the community

Question 3

Who does the Mental Health (Forensic Procedures) Act 1990 apply to?

Answer 3

Provides care of patients who have committed a criminal offence and are mentally ill.

These can be either forensic or correctional patients.

Question 4

What is informal admission?

Answer 4

Involved the hospitalisation of mental health patients who agree to / ask for admission to hospital.
Admission is voluntary = ‘informal patients’
- involves informed consent !

Question 5

What is informed consent

Answer 5

Where the consumer provides permission for a specific treatment to occur.
They must be deemed well enough to be able to give informed consent.

Question 6

What is ‘formal admission’

Answer 6

Formal admission = involuntary admission

A person is admitted to or detained in a hospital / forced to accept treatment against their wishes.

3 categories:
- Involuntary patient
- Forensic patient
- Community treatment order

Question 7

What is an involuntary patient?

Answer 7

Formal admission –> admitted to or detained in hospital against their wishes (generally on advice of a certified practitioner)

Question 8

What is a forensic patient?

Answer 8

Formal admission –> has committed an offence but is unfit to be tried due to mental illness - has been ordered to be detained in a correctional / mental health / other facility, or be released into the community subject to conditions

Question 9

Formal Admission: What is a community treatment order?

Answer 9

A CTO = legal order made by the Mental Health Review Tribunal / a magistrate / qualified person in a hospital / community based service.
- valid for 12 months
- sets out the terms under which a person must accept medication, rehab, therapy, etc

Ordered when:
a) the person is currently mentally ill
b) the person is not currently mentally ill, but is judged by someone qualified to be likely to become mentally ill within 3 months
c) CTO is judged to be the least restrictive alternative for treatment

Question 10

When can formal admission be carried out?

Answer 10

Involuntary admission can only be carried out if they meet criteria for being a
- mentally ill person (most severe)
- mentally disordered person

Question 11

What are the criteria for a mentally ill person?

Answer 11

• Has a mental illness (continuing condition) which seriously impairs the mental functioning of a person through delusions / hallucinations / serious disorder of thought form and disturbance of mood
  AND
• is at risk of serious harm to self and others (physical, emotional, financial, self-harm, reputational harm, stalking, neglect, violence)

Question 12

What is the criteria for a mentally disordered person?

Answer 12

Displays irrational behaviour
Significant physical risk to self or others
(i.e. don’t have to have disturbance of thought/mood/delusions, but need to display irrational behaviour so significant it is putting someone at harm)

No other care of a less restrictive kind is available

Question 13

Exclusions for Formal Admission

Answer 13

A person cannot be regarded as mentally ill / disordered because of the presence or lack of:
- religious beliefs / philosophy
- sexual preference / orientation
- past or current involvement in sexual promiscuity, immoral or illegal conduct
- because the person has taken alcohol or a drug
- has a developmental disability
- engages in antisocial behaviour

Question 14

What are ways that a person may be Formally Admitted under the Mental Health Act?

Answer 14

Scheduling by Medical Practitioner(s) is the most common pathway - this is valid for 5 days if mentally ill, or for 1 day if mentally disordered.
- In country areas, experienced mental health practitioners (or police, ambulance officers, or in extreme rural areas designated carers, relatives / friend) can schedule.

Admission by order of the court occurs when a person appears before a magistrate and is judged as mentally ill - admission following an order by a magistrate for medical examination - the medical practitioner would fill out the relevant schedule.

Question 15

Confidentiality under the act:

Answer 15

Information about the patient is not given to people outside the service agency without the patient’s permission

Question 16

What is the standardised process that takes place if you are admitted as a mentally disordered person?

Answer 16

Examined within 12 hours of admission

2nd examination, with a mental health inquiry by tribunal ASAP after 2nd examination

Review daily but detained for no longer than 3 working days - must be discharged if no longer mentally disordered.

Question 17

What is the admission process for a mentally ill person?

Answer 17

Examined within 12 hours of admission

2nd examination: mental health inquiry by tribunal ASAP after 2nd examination
- tribunal can recommend involuntary admission for up to 3 months, or a community treatment order for up to 12 months
- if the consumer is still considered mentally ill after this period, must be reviewed by tribunal who can make further orders for 3 and 12 months

Question 18

Mentally ill persons and the tribunal in a mental health inquiry

Answer 18

• informal
• must be legally represented
• must be medicated at the minimum practicable level until seen by the tribunal
• must appear before the tribunal in street clothes

Question 19

What are the rules about mandatory reporting - child safety - in NSW?

Answer 19

It is mandatory to make a report if you know of a child 0-15 who is at risk of significant harm.

Not mandatory for unborn children or children 16/17 but theses are under Department Communities and Justice Jurisdiction.

NSW law!

Report to NSW Child Protection helpline and Child Wellbeing Units (when harm is not significant)

Question 20

What Law provides direction for the requirements for mandatory reporting notifications under the national law?

Answer 20

The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009

Question 21

What is the aim of the AHPRA PBA Mandatory Reporting/

Answer 21

The aim of the notification requirement is to prevent the public from being placed at risk of harm.

Intention = that practitioners notify the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation (AHPRA) if they believe that another practitioner has behaved in a way which presents a serious risk to the public.

Does not require a student to make a mandatory notification, however we should be familiar with these guidelines.

Question 22

What does the obligation to make a mandatory report apply to?

Answer 22

Conduct or impairment of all practitioners, not just those within the practitioners own health profession.

Notifications made to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) are then referred to the appropriate board

Question 23

What is notifiable conduct?

Answer 23

were a practitioner has:
- practiced while intoxicated
- engaged in sexual misconduct in connection with their profession
- placed the public at risk of substantial harm because of their personal impairment
- placed the public at risk of harm because the practitioner has significantly departed from accepted professional standards

Question 24

What is the privacy act of 1988?

Answer 24

13 Australian privacy principles that still apply

Question 25

List the 13 principles of the privacy act:

Answer 25

APP1 - Open and transparent management of personal information
APP2 - anonymity an pseudonymity
APP3 - collection of solicited personal information
APP4 - dealing with unsolicited personal information
APP5 - Notification of the collection of personal information
APP6 - Use / disclosure of personal information
APP7 - direct marketing, APP8- Cross-border disclosure of personal info, APP9 - Adoption / use or disclosure of goverment related identifiers

APP10 - quality of personal information (APP entity must take reasonable steps to ensure info is accurate, up to date, complete)
APP11: Security of personal information

APP12: access to personal information

APP13: Correction of personal information (must correct information if the entity is satisfied it needs to be corrected or the indivdual requests correction)

Question 26

What are some of the Human Rights Acts?

Answer 26

Australian Human Rights Commission Act
Age Discrimination Act
Disability Discrimination Act
Racial Discrimination Act
Sex Discrimination Act