❓ Hon Colin Tincknell questions the Minister for Health regarding the interpretation and application of section 303 of the Mental Health Act concerning the admission of children to adult mental health units, given a significant increase in reported admissions. The Minister's office was not notified of the new interpretation, and a review is planned.
AnsweredQoN 1145Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES —
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
1145. Hon COLIN TINCKNELL to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Health:
I refer to section 303 of the
Mental Health Act, which requires adult inpatient mental health units to fulfil
a set of conditions before they admit a child under the age of 18 years and to
notify the Chief Psychiatrist of that admission.
(1) Was the minister's office notified of the
new interpretation of section 303 by the Mental Health Commission and
the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist?
(2) Are there any
plans to review the new interpretation, given the number of notifications of
children being admitted to adult inpatient mental health units has increased
from eight in the 2018–19 financial year to 107 in the 2019–20
financial year?
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
1145. Hon COLIN TINCKNELL to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Health:
I refer to section 303 of the
Mental Health Act, which requires adult inpatient mental health units to fulfil
a set of conditions before they admit a child under the age of 18 years and to
notify the Chief Psychiatrist of that admission.
(1) Was the minister's office notified of the
new interpretation of section 303 by the Mental Health Commission and
the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist?
(2) Are there any
plans to review the new interpretation, given the number of notifications of
children being admitted to adult inpatient mental health units has increased
from eight in the 2018–19 financial year to 107 in the 2019–20
financial year?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) The minister's office was not notified.
Section 303 is a protection under the Mental Health Act 2014, which requires various things to happen when a child is admitted to a mental health
service that also admits adults. Among the things that must happen is that the
Chief Psychiatrist be informed of such admissions. As part of its function as
the agency principally responsible for administering the act, the Mental Health
Commission, working with the Chief Psychiatrist, considered the effect of
section 303 of the act on the new mental health services that have been
developed in recent years to better meet the needs of the Western Australian community. These initiatives
have included the development of inpatient mental health services that
cater specifically for children and young people aged between 16 and 24 years.
During 2020, the MHC and the Chief Psychiatrist
worked with health service providers to ensure that their understanding of the reporting responsibilities under section 303 remains current.
(2) At the time
of drafting the act, new initiatives such as the youth inpatient mental health
units were not contemplated. The MHC will be
considering whether any amendment to section 303 is necessary to exclude new initiatives, including the youth
inpatient mental health units. However, as consideration of any proposed amendment requires broad consultation, any such consideration will need to
occur as part of the statutory review of the act, which is due to commence as
soon as practicable after 30 November 2020.
some notice of the question.
(1) The minister's office was not notified.
Section 303 is a protection under the Mental Health Act 2014, which requires various things to happen when a child is admitted to a mental health
service that also admits adults. Among the things that must happen is that the
Chief Psychiatrist be informed of such admissions. As part of its function as
the agency principally responsible for administering the act, the Mental Health
Commission, working with the Chief Psychiatrist, considered the effect of
section 303 of the act on the new mental health services that have been
developed in recent years to better meet the needs of the Western Australian community. These initiatives
have included the development of inpatient mental health services that
cater specifically for children and young people aged between 16 and 24 years.
During 2020, the MHC and the Chief Psychiatrist
worked with health service providers to ensure that their understanding of the reporting responsibilities under section 303 remains current.
(2) At the time
of drafting the act, new initiatives such as the youth inpatient mental health
units were not contemplated. The MHC will be
considering whether any amendment to section 303 is necessary to exclude new initiatives, including the youth
inpatient mental health units. However, as consideration of any proposed amendment requires broad consultation, any such consideration will need to
occur as part of the statutory review of the act, which is due to commence as
soon as practicable after 30 November 2020.
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