ETYKA W PSYCHIATRII

ETYKA W PSYCHIATRII - Przeglądy aktów prawnych

Mental Health Legislation & Human Rights (WHO)

• „Countries that have decided to draft and enact new mental health legislation have to carry out certain preliminary activities that can usefully inform this process. Firstly, it is important to identify the principal mental health problems and barriers to the implementation of mental health policies and plans. The next task is to critically review existing legislation in order to identify gaps and difficulties that can be addressed by new legislation.” (s. 3)

• „Mental health legislation is essential because of the unique vulnerabilities of people with mental disorders. These vulnerabilities exist for two reasons. Firstly, mental disorders can affect the way people think and behave, their capacity to protect their own interests and, on rare occasions, their decision-making abilities. Secondly, persons with mental disorders face stigma, discrimination and marginalization in most societies. Stigmatization increases the probability that they will not be offered the treatment they need or that they will be offered services that are of inferior quality and not sensitive to their needs. Marginalization and discrimination also increase the risk of violation of their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights by mental health service providers and others.” (s. 9)

• „Mental health legislation is essential to complement and reinforce mental health policy and is not a substitute for it. It provides a legal framework ensuring the consideration of critical issues such as access to mental health care, the provision of care that is humane and of high quality, rehabilitation and aftercare, the full integration of persons with mental disorders into the community and the promotion of mental health in different sectors of society.” (s. 11)

• „There should be legislative provisions ensuring that all information and records about a person’s mental disorders are kept confidential. Laws should explicitly prevent the disclosure, examination or transmission of a patient’s mental health records without her or his consent and/or the consent of a legally appointed representative or guardian. Similarly, legislation should require professionals to obtain consent before disclosing any non-written information obtained during the assessment or treatment of mental disorders.” (s. 22)

• „The laws should encourage voluntary admission and, in exceptional circumstances, should permit involuntary admission. Where there is a potential for involuntary admission, this should only be used in very specific circumstances and in accordance with the law.” (s. 23)

• „Competence to give consent or refuse treatment refers commonly to the capacity to understand the purpose, nature, likely effects and risks of a particular treatment, including the likelihood of its success, the consequences of withholding it and any alternatives to it. Mental disorders can affect competence. Legislation should therefore provide protection to people suffering from mental disorders. The presence of mental disorder does not automatically imply incapacity to make competent decisions. The law should lay down explicit procedures for assessing competence, should stipulate the appropriate authorities to determine competence, and should outline the actions to be performed if a person is deemed incompetent.” (s. 26)