scholarly journals The care, treatment, rehabilitation and legal outcomes of referrals to a tertiary psychiatric hospital according to the Mental Health Care Act No. 17 of 2002

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Dumisile Priscilla Madlala ◽  
F B Sokudela
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Signs And Symptoms ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Correct Treatment ◽  
Mentally Ill Persons ◽  
Care Treatment

<p><strong>Background. </strong>The Mental Health Care Act No. 17 of 2002 (MHCA) was introduced to combat poor care received by mentally ill persons. </p><p><strong>Objective.</strong> The objective of this study was to evaluate diagnostic and treatment accuracy as well as compliance with procedural matters related to the MHCA, using a sample in the northern region of Gauteng Province, South Africa. </p><p><strong>Method.</strong> Files of 200 patients admitted to Weskoppies Hospital between June and December 2009 were evaluated for admission procedures, and care, treatment and rehabilitation (CTR). </p><p><strong>Results.</strong> From referring hospitals, 174 (87%) persons had appropriate signs and symptoms documented in the referral note or MHCA forms. All of these were appropriately diagnosed. Although about one-third of the patients’ treatment was not documented, more than 50% (<em>n</em>=163) received the correct treatment. In two-thirds of patients, correction of detected abnormalities was not documented. Approximately 50% of the admissions had documents that did not adhere to MHCA provisions. At Weskoppies Hospital, CTR was considered appropriate for 92% of the patients. The legal status of the majority of patients was involuntary at discharge point. The majority of persons stayed for &lt;3 months but for longer than what medical aid schemes allow in the private sector. </p><p><strong>Conclusions. </strong>The study highlighted both improvements and gaps in CTR given to mentally ill persons in the northern Gauteng region, which might apply to the rest of the country. Medicolegal requirements stipulated by the MHCA are still a challenge a decade post enactment, but there may be a move in the right direction.</p>

Coercion in Community Mental Health Care

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Community Care ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Community Treatment ◽  
Community Treatment Orders ◽  
Improved Outcome

The use of coercion is one of the defining issues of mental health care and has been intensely controversial since the very earliest attempts to contain and treat the mentally ill. The balance between respecting autonomy and ensuring that those who most need treatment and support are provided with it has never been finer, with the ‘move into the community’ in many high-income countries over the last 50 years and the development of community services. The vast majority of patients worldwide now receive mental health care outside hospital, and this trend is increasing. New models of community care, such as assertive community treatment (ACT), have evolved as a result and there are widespread provisions for compulsory treatment in the community in the form of community treatment orders. These legal mechanisms now exist in over 75 jurisdictions worldwide. Many people using community services feel coerced, but at the same time intensive forms of treatment such as ACT, which arguably add pressure to patients to engage in treatment, have been associated with improved outcome. This volume draws together current knowledge about coercive practices worldwide, both those founded in law and those ‘informal’ processes whose coerciveness remains contested. It does so from a variety of perspectives, drawing on diverse disciplines such as history, law, sociology, anthropology, and medicine and for is explored

scholarly journals Patterns of mental health care in a seaside lodging house

1993 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-83
Author(s):  
John Barnes ◽  
Greg Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
General Practitioner ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Local Sources

Much of the medical care of the long-term mentally ill falls to the general practitioner (Wilkinson et al, 1985) and, for example, a survey in Buckinghamshire showed that these patients consult their general practitioner (GP) twice as often as mental health services. Lodging house dwellers are known to show an increased prevalence of major mental illness and to suffer much secondary social handicap, presenting a challenge to helping services of all disciplines. For this reason we chose a lodging house in which to explore further the relationships between mental illness and residents' present contact with their GP, mental health services and other local sources of help.

Mental health care in Belgrade — Challenges and solutions

2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (S2) ◽  
pp. s266-s269 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.L. Tosevski ◽  
B. Pejuskovic
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Vascular Diseases ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Acute And Chronic Stress ◽  
Mental And Behavioral Disorders

AbstractAimTo describe principles and characteristics of mental health care in Belgrade.MethodsBased on existing data, service provision, number of professionals working in services, funding arrangements, pathways intocare, user/carer involvement and specific issues are reported.ResultsDisastrous events in the country and the region caused an increase of mental and behavioral disorders for 13.5% in the last few years, thus making them the second largest public health problem (after cerebro-vascular diseases). The overall morbidity and mortality are on the rise. Intense acute and chronic stress, as well as the accumulated traumas caused significant psychological sequelae, especially to vulnerable people.DiscussionWhilst various issues of mental health care in Belgrade overlap with those in other European capitals, there are also some specific problems and features. Due to prolonged adversities, the health system has deteriorated and is facing specific challenges. However, the transformation of mental health services has been initiated, with a lot of positive movements, such as preparation of the National policy for mental health care as well as the Law for protection of mentally ill individuals.

Justice, Fairness, and Mental Health Care

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent M. Kious
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
John Rawls ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Natural Approach ◽  
Theories Of Justice ◽  
Practical Question ◽  
Provide Health Care

What justice requires of society with respect to health care and, more specifically, with respect to the treatment of the mentally ill, is a pressing philosophical and practical question. A natural approach to answering this question is to begin with the work of John Rawls, who has articulated one of the most comprehensive and influential modern theories of justice. I explore the basic outlines of Rawls’s theory and examine multiple attempts to apply it to health care, examining issues specific to the just allocation of mental health care where they arise. I argue that, though Rawls’s view and its derivates offer compelling reasons to think that justice requires a society to provide health care to its mentally ill citizens, they provide little guidance regarding how extensive the claims of the mentally ill on a society’s resources should be.

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