Mental Health Care Act

Question 1

What are the aims of the MHCA?

Answer 1

Promote the rights of those wit mental disabilities.
Improves mental health care service delivery
Protects the health and safety of the public where a mentally ill person maybe of danger to themselves or others as a result of the illness
to set out the framework and statutory roles with respect to:
inpatients and involuntary outpatients
state patients and mentally ill prisoners
those with the inability to act in a legally competent manner (curatorship / administration)

Question 2

Define mental illness according to MHCA

Answer 2

positive diagnoses of a MH-related illness into accepted diagnostic criteria made by a MHCP authorised to do so.

Question 3

Define Mental Illness as per DSM

Answer 3

A syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individuals cognition, emotional regulation or behaviour that reflects dysfunction in the psychological, biological or developmental processes underlying neural function.

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

Question 4

Explain the process of an emergency admission.

Answer 4

Suspected user is ill, needs help

Any delay may result in:
Death or irreversible harm to the user

User inflicting serious harm / damage to property belonging to him/herself or others

User unable to make an informed choice & refuses treatment

Accommodates a 24 hour admission, must report to the Review Board.