Community support into law to implement patients' right to know

[Reporter Yang Chengyu/Taipei Report] In order to improve assistance and front-end prevention for mental illness patients, strengthen community support, and protect rights and interests, the Legislative Yuan will pass the "Amendment to Some Articles of the Mental Health Law" for the third reading yesterday, including community support into the law. Realize the patient's right to know, and the mandatory hospitalization should be decided by the judge; in addition, if the serious patient often fails to cooperate with the instructions and receive "compulsory community treatment" on a regular basis, the local competent authority may ask the police for assistance when necessary.

In order to comply with the intent of Article 8 of the Constitution, the “principle of judge retention,” the new law stipulates that the mandatory hospitalization of mentally ill patients should be ruled by the court, and that a review committee composed of specialists, nurses, legal experts, and other professionals should review compulsory community treatment.

The Review Committee shall assist the court in submitting a petition for compulsory hospitalization or extension of compulsory hospitalization for serious patients, and assist the court in arranging the hearing.

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If you fail to cooperate with compulsory treatment, please ask the police for assistance

With regard to compulsory hospitalization, the current regulations are reviewed by the Central Compulsory Community Treatment Committee for Mental Illness, and the period of compulsory hospitalization shall not exceed 60 days. The number of applications for adjudication is limited to one, and the period shall not exceed 60 days.

The Amendment stipulates that in the first instance of a court concerning events related to forced hospitalization of severe patients, cessation of emergency placement, and cessation of compulsory community treatment, a judge shall be the presiding judge, and a collegial panel shall be formed with two jurors.

In addition, in order to comply with the spirit and expectations of the "Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities", patients have the right to informed consent for all treatments; With the consent of his legal representative", the words "the compulsory community treatment can be done without informing the serious patients" were also deleted.