A group of mental health professionals has denounced the new Mental Health Bill as being “the old Act with some new lipstick”.
In an editorial in today’s New Zealand Medical Journal, they argue New Zealand has wasted an opportunity to implement a person-centric, human rights approach to its mental health legislation.
Author Professor Paul Glue, of the University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka’s Department of Psychological Medicine, has “significant concerns” about the Bill’s notions of care, promotion of the status quo of substitute decision-making, including controversial long-term community treatment orders, increasing stigma and risk in the community, and lack of consistency with international conventions.
“The Bill promises great things with discussion of patient-centred care and supported decision-making, but in its actual clauses, this promise fails to be realised.
Professor Paul Glue
“The ‘new’ proposed Act is essentially the old Act with a few minor tweaks – it’s essentially the old Act with some new lipstick,” he says.
The group believes supported decision-making, led by the patient, needs to be at the heart of the Bill, and advocates for the wholesale adoption of advance directives as a comprehensive voice for people who experience psychosocial distress.
“Supported decision-making provides those who experience psychosocial distress the ability to have their voices heard and preferences followed.
“The proposed Bill continues to override personal decision-making, instead promoting a substitute decision-making regime where the balance of power remains with an assessor. This contravenes New Zealand’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). It also breaches the Convention with the inclusion of a capacity assessment that will allow clinicians to override a person’s advance directive and permit compulsory treatment.”
Professor Glue says New Zealand was considered a world leader in human rights and mental health care when the current Act was introduced in 1992. But times have changed and there is a need to progress our legislation to once again be cutting edge and to promote the rights of all persons.
“We truly have the chance to make a once-in-a-generation change to our mental health law.”
The group urges anyone who has been – or has yet to be – impacted by psychosocial distress to make a submission to Parliament on the draft Bill to encourage it to be made human-rights compliant for the coming generation.