Analyse the Importance of the Mental Health Act

People with mental illness have always been discriminated against; to have an exclusion such as this go through Congress without being repealed is reprehensible. The IMD Exclusion provides the states with financial incentives to provide substandard care, or no care at all. It encourages states to shift costs by placing mentally ill patients anywhere but psychiatric hospitals (Davoli, 2003).

Observation is one way in which mental health nurses can protect acutely mentally ill inpatients from harm and is commonly implemented for patients who impose a risk of harming themselves, others and for those who are vulnerable (Bowers et

The Mental Health Services Act is a monumental proposition that has helped many people for more than a decade. In California alone, close to 1.2 million adults and around 422,000 children live with a serious mental illness (State 2010). Without the proper treatment, suicide is the leading cause of death for a person battling an untreated mental illness (State 2010). With over thirteen billion dollars raised so far, MHSA has been the root of funding for mental health in California (Williams 2015). MHSA is still a work in progress. The act is nowhere near perfect, as a recent audit has shown, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.

Most people with mental illness can and do seek out treatment for their condition. The Mental Health Act is concerned with the small number of persons who cannot or who do not seek out treatment.

Earley highlights this with his son as he leaves the hospital system and is processed through the judicial system. The next responsibility is to understand where we are in a system and where we need to go. The book portrayed Mike, Earley’s son, could not be hospitalized unless he voluntarily committed himself or verbalized harm towards himself or others. It was clear to Earley, who knew his son’s baseline, was deescalating further into psychosis. The situation explains how we can get assistance for clients who may not be able to make adequate decisions in a psychotic episode. Lastly, the clinician should develop a strategic plan of how to achieve the desired results, and the key participants involved. Earley researched the systems involved for over a year before he concluded writing a book would reach the vast of persons involved. He interviewed and studied the systems involved to strategically plan how he could assist his son.

In order to properly explore and answer the question that has been posed, the term mental illness must first be defined. Mental illness is the inability to properly control or express behaviors, emotions, or the person’s beliefs. This can affect any individual for any number of reasons. For instance, the illness may be contracted later in life due to stress, physical or even emotional damage. Treatment for these disorders today might seem practical, efficient and humane. This was not always the case for patients suffering from mental disorders. In the earliest forms, treatment for mental illnesses could be deemed barbaric, morbid and morally misguided. Patients who were admitted to mental institutions would be given shelter. This was an opportunity to observe the symptoms and to diagnose the problem that had been presented to the medical experts. Surely while being kept in these institutions the shelter that was provided to the patients were healthy and deemed acceptable right?

The mental health system focuses primarily on the treatment of illnesses, public health, and harm reduction. The courts attempt to purview each system so that they can fulfill its duty and produce the best outcomes for people that have a mental illness and for their community. The mental health court system likes to motivate individuals to connect to community-based treatment services while the court monitors their progress and ensures public safety. According to Almquist L. and Dodd E., the definition to Mental

Each person is an individual who can consent to being given medication and who is informed fully about the kind of medication they are going to receive. Their choices should be informed, with a doctor’s advice they can choose the best medication for their condition. They are allowed to refuse medication if they want to. Te carers have to be aware of all medication. They can review their care plan at any time if there is a health change. If the person is considered to be lacking the capacity to judge for themselves what kind of medication they receive, the Mental Health Act says that a professional can decide what kind of medication to administer.

Non-declared mental health facilities should have appropriate policies and procedures to ensure that if restraint is required within non-declared mental health units, such as Transitional Behavioural Assessment and Intervention Service (T-BASIS) units, then any necessary consent is obtained consistent with the NSW Guardianship Act 1987.

This act gives the right to all individuals that suffer from a mental disorder on a national and international level to receive and be able to access any

The mental health parity law is a law that enables an individual to seek help not only for his physical problems but his mental problems as well. This law states that there would be no limits on therapy sessions nor would there be higher co-pays to insurance companies for mental health care. The mental health parity law gives equal importance to the body and mind. There would be equal access to the same mental health services and physical health services so that an individual can get the help they need when they need

“Asylums, Elco -shock therapy, skull drills, pills, exorcisms, isolation, lobotomies. Many of the drastic procedures that have been put in place to relieve a person of mental illness are only successful in creating vegetables out of patients, not in curing their illness but making a ghost of their previous selves” (History Cooperative). The abuse and mistreatment of psychiatric patients is on the increase world wide therefore, security precautions, strict protocols and and appropriate punishment should be enforced.

Mental capacity is another important difference between formal and informal patients with regards to consenting to treatment. Providing the patient is mentally competent, they are in a much stronger position to refuse treatment as an informal patient. Again, however, it has been observed that patients feel coerced into consenting to treatment. Until the MCA[10] came into force this year – there was very little procedural protection afforded to those patients admitted informally and found to be mentally incompetent. Treatment could be forced upon patients in this situation on the basis of the doctors view of the patients best interests[11].

After introducing oneself to the patient, and going over the patient’s records, capacity needs to be established to provide person-centred care. The Mental Health Act 1983 has 5 sections, of which Jamie has seen sectioned under section 2, which is upon admission to hospital the patient can be detained for up to 28 days in the hospital for assessment requiring 2 Doctors and 1 approved mental health practitioner (Lloyd M, 2012). Section 2 of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) outlined “capacity” as being incapable of making decisions for yourself in relation to the matter because of an impairment or a disturbance in the functioning of the mind or brain. The Act declares that in law it is presumed adults have the capacity to make choices and requires proof if they remain unable to. Jamie was examined by The Older People’s Mental Health team (OPMH) and an

Katy was receiving treatment for her psychological disorder under the mental health act (MHA) 1992, which was acknowledged as being a voluntary patient. According to The Ministry of Health (MOH) 2012, voluntary patient means that Katy decided to have treatment for her mental illness, however, she has the right to suspend that treatment and she also has the right to leave at any time while being treated in the hospital. Therefore, the (MHA) 1992 covers the circumstances under which people may be subjected to compulsory mental health assessment and treatment. Mental health disorder is defined as an abnormal state of mind characterised by disorders (MOH, 2012). It is normally identified based on the presenting symptoms the patient is experiencing rather than the clinical analysis (MOH, 2012). The success of treatments for depression is associated to (MHA). It also outlines the circumstances in which people can be treated for a mental health disorder without their permission and their rights and it also respects for different cultural values and beliefs as a significant part of compulsory assessment and treatment (Medical Council of New Zealand, 2013). According to the Citizens Advice Bureau (2015), it has been identified that as an individual goes through the assessment and treatment under the (MHA) and are privileged with 12 patient rights. Katy was placed under section 9, where she received the information on patient rights. Which was than given to the duly authorised officer