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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 6 Hansard (25 May) . . Page.. 1771 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

The provisions of the current act do not provide for involuntary detention of the individuals who present voluntarily to an approved health facility and then choose to leave or refuse treatment. In these circumstances, the police, a mental health worker or a doctor would need to apprehend the person off the grounds of the health facility and then take them back to the facility. As you will appreciate, this causes unnecessary strain on all concerned and may result in individuals failing to receive treatment due to their absconding from the health facility.

This gap in the legislation was highlighted by the death of a man who voluntarily attended the Canberra Hospital, then left the facility and committed suicide. It has also been brought to my attention by Mr Ron Cahill in his capacity as president of the Mental Health Tribunal, who suggested that an amendment was required. The bill proposes to give authority to doctors in approved health facilities to place an individual under involuntary detention orders whether or not the individual has presented voluntarily or involuntarily. It also removes the requirement for a voluntary presentation to abscond from a health facility, be apprehended and then returned to the facility before such an order can be made.

The amendments proposed in this bill will close a gap currently in the act and ensure that individuals requiring emergency or involuntary detention for their own safety, or for the protection of others, can be detained and receive appropriate treatment. The existing requirement that all involuntary detentions must be reviewed by a doctor within four hours of detention remains. The stringent criteria for involuntary detention are also unchanged.

A consultation process, guided by a discussion paper which I am tabling today, will occur over the next five weeks. The consultation process is designed to increase community understanding of the need for these amendments, and comments received will inform debate on the bill in the Legislative Assembly. I will table that discussion paper later today. The discussion paper addresses concerns that the amendments may allow unjustifiable detention of people who have presented voluntarily to an approved health facility. It is unlikely that this will occur, given the strict criteria which individuals must meet in order to be placed in emergency detention. It should also be noted that under the current legislation, if an individual met the same criteria and was not within the approved facility, the individual could be apprehended, taken to the facility and placed in emergency detention.

These amendments have the support of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Richard Refshauge, and the Community Advocate, Ms Heather McGregor, as well as the ACT Chief Psychiatrist, Associate Professor Cathy Owen. The proposed amendments do not change the criteria for being placed in emergency detention. The only significant change is the ability to place in emergency detention individuals who are at serious risk of harm to themselves or others and who are already within an approved health facility. These amendments will assist in improving the operation of the Mental Health (Treatment and Care) Act 1994. I commend the amendments to the Assembly.

Debate (on motion by Mr Wood ) adjourned.

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