Involuntary Patient: A Case Study

The process to admit a person as an involuntary patient is outlined in Section 7, and gives authority to detain a person who is apprehended by a peace officer, something that was is new within a NWT Mental Health Act. Also new is section 8, which defines the rights of a patient under involuntary assessment or admission (Bill 55: Mental Health Act, 2015). Such a patient has the right for timely verbal and written information about their case, including but not limited to the reason the certificate was issued, the function of the Review Board, and his or her right to apply to the Review Board for the cancellation of the certification. Section 8 expands upon these rights, and describes the how the patient is entitled to having legal counsel, access to his or her substitute decision maker, having visitors during regular visiting hours, using of a telephone, and …show more content…
News reports highlighted Part 4, which describes assisted community treatment (Williams, 2015). Assisted community treatment gives patients the ability to leave a medical facility to live in a smaller community while undergoing treatment because the legislation expanded upon who could examine and assess patients (Magee, 2015). At the same time, should someone stop treatment, then the Part 4 states that the patient can be detain and transported to a treatment center by police (Magee, 2015). Reports also emphasize concerns about the way the new Mental Health Act fails to address NWT’s youth (Carmichael, 2015; Thurton, 2015a; Williams, 2015). According to reports (Magee, 2015; Williams, 2015), anywhere from 10% to 30% of the frontline positions responsible for supporting community wellness have been left vacant in communities. These positions are often the first door for young people who require