Journal Activity 3.2: Mental Health Legislation in the NWT
Similar to other jurisdictions across Canada, the Northwest Territories (NWT) has its own mental health legislation which describes how residents with mental health challenges can be supported. Among other things, the legislation determines how to care for individuals who may require voluntary or involuntary admission to a mental health facility. In the NWT, the mental health legislation has undergone recent public review. By October 2015, Bill 55: Mental Health Act (2015) passed its third reading in the legislature, but news sources stated that it would take approximately a year to come into effect (Thurton, 2015a). In looking forward, Bill 55: Mental Health Act (2015) is meant to …show more content…
From the GNWT Health and Social Services website one can easily locate the Mental Health Act 1988 (2015), amended in 2014 and in force October 2015. As of October 2016, Bill 55: Mental Health Act (2015), is not referenced from the GNWT Health and Social Services website. Instead this bill can be downloaded from the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories website at http://www.assembly.gov.nt.ca/sites/default/files/bill_55_-_mental_health_act_-_reprint.pdf. In the summary section of Bill 55: Mental Health Act (2015), it is explained that this Bill replaces the Mental Health Act 1988 (2015):
It modernizes mental health legislation and includes an approach to promote the care and treatment of patients in communities, where appropriate. It provides for the establishment of a Review Board to hear, in a timely manner, applications by patients, persons acting on behalf of patients, medical practitioners and other persons. (p. …show more content…
In simple terms, a certificate of involuntary admission is pursued when a medical practitioner has examined a person and has cause to believe that the person is suffering from a mental disorder that puts the person at risk of causing bodily harm to himself or herself, or to others. At that time, the medical practitioner will retain the person involuntarily by compiling and filling an application for involuntary admission. Section 15 of the Act outlines the contents of application, which includes a statement that the medical practitioner has formed the opinion, after direct observation, that the person requires admission. The application must be made within 24 hours of the assessment, and describes the facts of the person’s condition that were directly observed by the practitioner and those that were gained from the observations of others. The practitioner must recommend either involuntary admission a facility outside of the NWT or order the detention of that person at a hospital within the Territories. The application is provided to the Minister who has 24 hours to review and make the decision to either refuse the application and release the person, order a psychiatric assessment within 48 hours before approving or refusing the detention, or approve the application and issue the certificate of involuntary
Similar to other jurisdictions across Canada, the Northwest Territories (NWT) has its own mental health legislation which describes how residents with mental health challenges can be supported. Among other things, the legislation determines how to care for individuals who may require voluntary or involuntary admission to a mental health facility. In the NWT, the mental health legislation has undergone recent public review. By October 2015, Bill 55: Mental Health Act (2015) passed its third reading in the legislature, but news sources stated that it would take approximately a year to come into effect (Thurton, 2015a). In looking forward, Bill 55: Mental Health Act (2015) is meant to …show more content…
From the GNWT Health and Social Services website one can easily locate the Mental Health Act 1988 (2015), amended in 2014 and in force October 2015. As of October 2016, Bill 55: Mental Health Act (2015), is not referenced from the GNWT Health and Social Services website. Instead this bill can be downloaded from the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories website at http://www.assembly.gov.nt.ca/sites/default/files/bill_55_-_mental_health_act_-_reprint.pdf. In the summary section of Bill 55: Mental Health Act (2015), it is explained that this Bill replaces the Mental Health Act 1988 (2015):
It modernizes mental health legislation and includes an approach to promote the care and treatment of patients in communities, where appropriate. It provides for the establishment of a Review Board to hear, in a timely manner, applications by patients, persons acting on behalf of patients, medical practitioners and other persons. (p. …show more content…
In simple terms, a certificate of involuntary admission is pursued when a medical practitioner has examined a person and has cause to believe that the person is suffering from a mental disorder that puts the person at risk of causing bodily harm to himself or herself, or to others. At that time, the medical practitioner will retain the person involuntarily by compiling and filling an application for involuntary admission. Section 15 of the Act outlines the contents of application, which includes a statement that the medical practitioner has formed the opinion, after direct observation, that the person requires admission. The application must be made within 24 hours of the assessment, and describes the facts of the person’s condition that were directly observed by the practitioner and those that were gained from the observations of others. The practitioner must recommend either involuntary admission a facility outside of the NWT or order the detention of that person at a hospital within the Territories. The application is provided to the Minister who has 24 hours to review and make the decision to either refuse the application and release the person, order a psychiatric assessment within 48 hours before approving or refusing the detention, or approve the application and issue the certificate of involuntary