Difference between revisions of "Consenting to Admission to a Care Facility"

The British Columbia Ombudsperson specifically found that the health authorities’ use of sections 22 and 37 of the Mental Health Act to involuntarily admit seniors to mental health facilities and then transfer them to residential care was being done without clear provincial policy to ensure that the Mental Health Act is used as a last resort. This omission meant the Ministry was not acting in a way that assured older adults were not unnecessarily deprived of their civil liberties.  Advocacy groups have noted that the involuntary detention provisions of the Mental Health Act endure long past the admission process, and have long lasting repercussions for the individual in residential care. For example, it effectively strips individuals of the health care rights that they would otherwise enjoy.

At the point when the second certificate of protection is signed, the detained older person is supposed to receive “rights information”, including being shown the information by which they were admitted in the first place. Staff is expected to facilitate the rights advice, identifying options, and repeat the information as necessary, again identifying reasons for detention.