Are the Mentally Ill being Criminalised?: Admission of Prisoners to Psychiatric Hospitals before and after the 1986 Mental Health Act (Vic)

1990 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 230-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Glaser ◽  
Kathy Laster
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Psychiatric Hospitals ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
Before And After

scholarly journals Consent to Treatment by the Mentally Ill and Mentally Handicapped—An Anomaly in the Mental Health Act 1983

1983 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 145-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridgit C. Dimond
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Mentally Handicapped ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
Consent To Treatment

I would like to bring to light an apparent oversight in the new statutory rules relating to consent to treatment by the mentally ill and mentally handicapped. This will have very serious consequences for the management of patients who are on short-term detention orders. The provisions relating to consent to treatment set out in Part IV of the Mental Health Act 1983 are the first attempt to cover by statutory controls the doctor's clinical freedom to prescribe treatment for his compulsorily detained patient. In addition, certain of the new provisions (which take effect from 30 September 1983) apply to the voluntary patients as well.

scholarly journals A survey of general hospital in-patients detained under Section 5(2) of the 1983 Mental Health Act

1996 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 733-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Buller ◽  
David Storer ◽  
Rachel Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
General Hospital ◽  
Conversion Rate ◽  
Psychiatric Hospitals ◽  
Patient Characteristics ◽  
Rare Occurrence ◽  
General Hospitals ◽  
Code Of Practice ◽  
Mental Health Act

Detention of general hospital in-patients under Section 5(2) is a rare occurrence. This study of the use of Section 5(2) in general hospitals uncovered a frequent neglect in following the guidelines of The Mental Health Act and The Code of Practice. Surprisingly the conversion rate of Section 5(2) to Section 2 or 3 was similar to that seen in a number of other studies conducted in the quite different setting of large psychiatric hospitals. A number of patient characteristics were identified that appeared to influence whether 5(2)s were converted to an admission Section. Each general hospital needs to develop guidelines to be followed when staff feel that a patient should be detained under Section 5(2) – an example of such a policy is included.

The frequency of references to decision-making capacity in reports to the NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal did not change after legislative reforms that promoted them

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-174
Author(s):  
Tim Foley ◽  
Christopher J Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Education Campaign ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
Decision Making Capacity ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Legislative Reforms ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health Review

Objective: To assess the impact of a 2015 reform to the Mental Health Act 2007 (NSW) ( MHA) that was interpreted as requiring a reference to decision-making capacity (DMC) in reports to the NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal (MHRT). Method: A sample of reports to the MHRT were audited for references to the MHA’s treatment criteria and DMC in periods before and after the reforms, and the frequency of references between the two periods was compared. Results: The frequency of references to DMC did not change significantly after the reforms. (However, references to the ‘least restriction’ criterion increased markedly between the two periods). Conclusion: Despite legislative reforms and a supporting education campaign promoting the importance of consideration of DMC, references to DMC did not increase after the reforms.

The Spectre of Criminalization: Remand Admissions to the Forensic Psychiatric Institute, British Columbia, 1975–1990

1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip M J Brinded ◽  
Faye E Grant ◽  
Jeanette E Smith
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
British Columbia ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Psychiatric Institute ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
History Of ◽  
Forensic Psychiatric

The history of the Forensic Psychiatric Institute (FPI) of British Columbia is reviewed through a description of the 3,500 remand admissions to the Institute between 1975 and 1990. Individuals charged with only minor offences and those who were certified under the Mental Health Act 1983 and subsequently had their charges stayed are examined in more detail. Results appear to suggest that these two groups are particularly vulnerable to the process of criminalization. The possible link between criminalization of the mentally ill and deinstitutionalization is explored.

scholarly journals Detention – the grey area

1989 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-13
Author(s):  
Oscar E. Daly
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Large Degree ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
Sexual Deviancy ◽  
Grey Area ◽  
Management Procedures ◽  
The Government

In September 1978 the Government published a review of the Mental Health Act (1959). This review was prompted to a large degree by an increasing awareness of the rights of the mentally ill and by an awareness among psychiatrists of the limits of their management procedures. The proposals of this review were largely incorporated into the Mental Health Act (1983). Among the proposals so incorporated was one that persons could not be detained in hospital against their will for assessment or treatment “by reason only of promiscuity or other immoral conduct, sexual deviancy or dependence on alcohol or drugs”.

Use of Section 5(2) in clinical practice

1992 ◽  
Vol 16 (01) ◽  
pp. 14-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Pourgourides ◽  
V. P. Prasher ◽  
Femi Oyebode
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Psychiatric Hospitals ◽  
Annual Basis ◽  
Mental Health Act

The Mental Health Act (1983) came into being eight years ago but few studies into its use have been reported (West, 1987; Sackett, 1987). The Act provided for the setting up of the Mental Health Act Commission to safeguard the interests of detained patients and to monitor the use of the Act. The Commission visits ordinary psychiatric hospitals on an annual basis and writes a report of the visit. The Commission also submits a Biennial Report to Parliament. These reports address important issues but do not provide detailed information on the use of the various sections of the Act in differing hospitals.

Psychotic Men Remanded in Custody to Brixton Prison

1994 ◽  
Vol 164 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Robertson ◽  
Susanne Dell ◽  
Katie James ◽  
Adrian Grounds
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychiatric Disorder ◽  
Hospital Admission ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Medical Intervention ◽  
Present System ◽  
Major Psychiatric Disorder ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
Medical Referral

All referrals to medical officers in Brixton Prison over a five-month period in 1989 were examined. This paper reports the progress through this remand prison of those men who were considered to be suffering from a major psychiatric disorder. Many men had been charged with relatively minor offences. The net effect of medical intervention was to delay release from custody. Because of the administrative delays inherent in the system of medical referral and hospital admission under section 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983, it was those prisoners who were most ill who tended to remain in prison for the longest periods. Judged in terms of its efficiency to ensure speedy treatment for mentally ill remanded offenders, the present system is regarded as cumbersome and extremely inefficient. It is suggested that greater use should be made of section 48 of the 1983 Act to divert mentally ill, remanded offenders from prison.

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