, you have rights. You should be aware of these rights and know who to contact if you need help.
As a compulsory patient, you have the right to:
An Assessment Order allows a psychiatrist to examine you to decide if you have mental illness , even if you do not want to be assessed. A doctor or a mental health practitioner (a nurse, occupational therapist , psychologist or social worker employed or engaged by a designated mental health service) can make an Assessment Order. You can be assessed in the community (Community Assessment Order) or at a hospital (Inpatient Assessment Order).
If an Assessment Order is made for you, it is because the doctor or mental health practitioner believes that:
Within 24 hours of a Community Assessment Order being made, or of your admission to an inpatient mental health service if an Inpatient Assessment Order has been made for you, a psychiatrist from the mental health service will examine you to decide:
If all the above reasons apply to you, the psychiatrist will make a Temporary Treatment Order and you must remain a compulsory patient. A Temporary Treatment Order can only last for 28 days.
You may have to stay in hospital for mental health treatment on an Inpatient Temporary Treatment Order, even if you don’t want to.
Your psychiatrist may decide that you can receive the treatment you need at home or when you visit a community clinic on a Community Temporary Treatment Order. However, you are still a compulsory patient.
A psychiatrist must talk to you about what mental health treatment you would like. You can ask a psychiatrist questions about your treatment. The psychiatrist must answer your questions in a way that you can understand.
A psychiatrist or another member of the treating team will help you to make decisions about your mental health treatment. You can also ask a family member, nominated person, guardian, carer or mental health advocate to help you to make decisions about your mental health treatment.
A psychiatrist may make a decision about your treatment if:
If you are unable to make a decision about your treatment, the psychiatrist will still listen to what treatment you would like before making a decision about your treatment.
is an independent tribunal that:
If you are on a Temporary Treatment Order, the Mental Health Tribunal will hold a hearing to decide if you need compulsory treatment for mental illness for longer than 28 days. The Tribunal can make a Treatment Order for up to:
Your order will finish at the end of the term set by the Tribunal. Your psychiatrist can cancel the order at any time if they believe that you no longer need compulsory treatment. If your psychiatrist thinks you still need compulsory treatment, they must make an application to the Tribunal for a further Treatment Order before your current order ends.
It is your right to apply to the independent Tribunal to revoke your order at any time. If you want to apply to the Tribunal, ask a member of your treating team for an application form. The team member can send it to the Tribunal for you.
You can make an advance statement at any time. An advance statement is written by you and says what treatment you would like when you are unwell.
You can make an advance statement by writing it down, and signing and dating it. Your advance statement must be signed by a witness who says you understand what the advance statement is and what it means to make the advance statement. The witness must be a doctor, a member of your treating team, or someone who is allowed to witness statutory declarations.
A nominated person is someone you can choose to support you if you have to have compulsory treatment. Your nominated person can be a family member, a carer, a partner, or anyone else you choose. You can ask someone to be your nominated person at any time.
Your nominated person gets information about your mental health treatment. Because of this, you should choose someone who knows you well and who you can trust.
You can make a nomination by writing it down, and signing and dating your nomination. The person needs to agree to be your nominated person.
Your nomination must be signed by a witness who says you understand what the nomination is and what it means to make a nomination. The witness must be a doctor, a member of your treating team, or someone who is allowed to witness statutory declarations. The witness cannot be the person you choose to be the nominated person.
It is your right to seek a second opinion about your psychiatric condition or treatment. You can ask your case manager or clinician to help you arrange this.
Your treating psychiatrist must consider the recommendations made in a second psychiatric opinion report. If they decide not to adopt any or all of the recommendations in the report, you can ask the Chief Psychiatrist to review your treatment. The Chief Psychiatrist can direct that changes are made to your treatment, if they think it is appropriate.
It is your right to obtain legal advice and have a lawyer to represent you. For more information contact Victoria Legal Aid External Link
You can have people visit you at the mental health service and you can contact people by letter or phone. You can also have someone of your choice with you when you discuss your treatment with your doctor.
If you are unhappy about anything that happens when you are a compulsory patient, you have the right to complain. A good place to start is with your case manager or the complaints officer at the mental health service. You can also contact the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission External Link