Mental Health Act rights materials now available in eight languages other than English

The unmet need

In a series of focus groups, members of our research team asked clinicians about the barriers they face when giving involuntary patients rights information. One barrier participants mentioned over and over was that many of their patients didn’t understand English.

Form 13, the document clinicians use to to tell patients about their rights, seems to be available only in English.

Translated rights materials

To help fill the gap in availability of Mental Health Act rights information in other languages, we’ve translated:

into eight of BC’s most commonly spoken languages other than English:

  • Arabic
  • Chinese (Traditional and Simplified)
  • Farsi
  • French
  • Korean
  • Punjabi
  • Spanish
  • Vietnamese

Continue readingMental Health Act rights materials now available in eight languages other than English”

A chance to make a better Guide to the Mental Health Act

Cover of the 2005 edition of the Guide to the Mental Health Act

In Committed to Change, a report detailing the failure of the mental health system to uphold the rights of involuntary patients hospitalized under the Mental Health Act, the BC Ombudsperson issued 24 recommendations “to ensure the rights of people with serious mental illness are respected and public confidence in our mental health system is enhanced.” (BC Ombudsperson 2019, p. 3)

One of the recommendations is that, “By March 31, 2020, the Ministry of Health update and reissue the Guide to the Mental Health Act to incorporate the changes made arising from this report and other changes.” (BC Ombudsperson 2019, p. 98)

Continue reading “A chance to make a better Guide to the Mental Health Act

Committed to Change—the Ombudsperson’s critical new report about involuntary patients’ rights

Over 2017 and 2018, the BC Ombudsperson’s Office investigated whether hospitals in the province were meeting their Mental Health Act obligations to safeguard involuntary patients’ rights by filling out the required forms at admission. On March 7, 2019, the report of this investigation, Committed to Change, was made public.

Cover of the Ombudsperson's report "Committed to Change: Protecting the Rights of Involuntary Patients under the Mental Health Act" showing the title superimposed on a photo of a long hospital corridor.

Continue readingCommitted to Change—the Ombudsperson’s critical new report about involuntary patients’ rights”