New Mental Health Act unveiled
Services provided must meet people's needs, says minister
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Friday, June 5, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
An overhaul of the Mental Health Act fills gaps in the current system, says the territorial health minister.
Glen Abernethy, minister of Health and Social Services, speaks during an event in the legislative assembly lobby in May. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo |
The new act is expected to streamline the admissions process, ease paperwork demands and allow residents to receive treatment while living in their own communities, among other changes.
Health and Social Services minister Glen Abernethy introduced Bill 55 Monday. It received second reading by MLAs Tuesday.
"We have to make sure the services we're providing are meeting the people's needs," Abernethy said following the vote.
He said the old act, which has largely remained the same since the mid-1990s, left critical gaps in mental health care. "The act that we had in place was not allowing us to meet the people's needs. It was outdated and had some gaps that needed to be filled."
The main gap, he said, was the ability to require people to take medication. An expansion of who can examine and assess patients will allow people in smaller communities greater access to care, he said.
"Many residents don't get the treatment they need because the old Mental Health Act is completely outdated," said Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro.
The bill will now be studied by a committee that will hold public consultations over the summer and which could suggest changes before the act becomes law. The bill is expected to pass third reading in the fall sitting.
The most consequential change, Abernethy said, is the ability to allow a patient to leave a medical facility to live in the community while under supervision and receiving treatment. The measure is relatively new in several other jurisdictions where the minister said it's worked well. Should someone stop treatment, such as taking a medication, the law would allow the patient to be detained and brought to a treatment centre by police.
The bill also has an expansion of the criteria for involuntary admission - meaning someone forced into treatment - which will allow health authorities to intervene sooner before someone reaches a point of causing harm.
An involuntarily admission certificate can be issued for a patient after being assessed by staff. That allows that person to be held for up to 30 days for treatment and further assessment at a medical facility. It can be renewed, which allows for detention for 60 days. A third and subsequent renewals would last 90 days.
The minister cited the removal of a requirement for him to sign off on involuntarily admitting someone as an example of reduced paperwork and administration.
People who voluntarily admit themselves can also be held involuntarily if staff believe the person is at risk of harming themselves or others after release.
A person involuntarily held must be advised of their patient rights which include legal counsel in private, visitor access, access to a phone and writing supplies. Another is the right to apply to have the detention reviewed by a board.
The board's composition is not yet clear because it will be established by regulations not yet finalized. Applications to the board will be considered by a three-person review panel. It will have a lawyer, a doctor and a third person and will have powers similar to a civil court. The panel can decide things like whether a patient can be considered mentally competent and whether a doctor can provide treatment that has been refused.
As part of the drafting process, Abernethy said an estimate of the financial implications was carried out. Because the bill is still subject to amendments, the potential cost could change significantly and he declined to provide the early estimate.
"We don't anticipate a significant cost up front," he said. "There will be some additional costs, absolutely, but we'll wait until we have the bill finalized."
He said the bill will change the way department staff work but doesn't necessarily mean more staff are required. However, he said it does mean positions that are vacant will need to be filled. The department has consistently seen about 10 per cent of its positions vacant across the territory.
The health minister also said this week that the department plans to hire a youth mental health expert for a review of how the system treated 19-year-old Timothy Henderson prior to his death. Until the selection has been finalized, the expert's name is not being released Abernethy said.
Henderson's parents and stepfather have raised concerns around how their son repeatedly went to Stanton Territorial Hospital seeking help, only to be discharged feeling like those treating him didn't take him seriously.
His parents have called for the government's review to involve the family, though that will be determined by the review's terms of reference which have not yet been finalized.
Abernethy expected to bring the draft terms to the social programs committee for discussion sometime this week.
