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The new law does not adequately regulate mental healthcare facilities in the country: expert
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The new Mental Healthcare Bill 2012 needs to be reviewed keeping in mind
the autonomy of patients, said activists and specialists at a
discussion on mental health and patients’ rights.
This was one of the important conclusions that came out of a discussion,
Mental Health and Patients’ Rights, which was part of a seminar,
‘Cancer and Mental Health Patients: Their Rights to Autonomy and
Emotional Well-Being’ held in the city on Saturday.
Giving an overview of the new Mental Health Care Bill 2012 and the right to autonomy, Jayna Kothari from the Centre for Law and Policy Research said the Bill, cleared by the Union Cabinet on June 14, should have undergone further debate before it was presented in the Parliament.
Wanted: regulations
The new Bill, once approved by Parliament, will repeal the Mental Health Act 1987. “Issues regarding how legal capacity of persons with mental illness can be enforced need to be re-examined. Mental healthcare institutions need more regulations. But the new law does not adequately regulate the facilities,” she added.
Sanjeev Jain, professor of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental
Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans), who spoke on ‘Institutional
Responsibilities and Patients’ Rights’, gave a professional perspective
on the challenges faced by doctors in enabling a rights-of-patients
environment in practice. “How do we tackle a situation when a patient
refuses treatment but the doctor feels it is important for the patient”
he asked.
Trained counsellors
Uttara Vidyasagar from Viveka Centre for Emotional Support stressed the importance of counselling patients and families and the need for more counsellors to be trained. She said the need was so huge that there was scope for self-help groups, trained counsellors and psycho-oncologists as well to provide support and emotional support.
Gurmeet Singh Randhawa, managing trustee of Bangalore Hospice Trust, spoke on the importance of doctor-patient communication and how direct communication was essential in helping the patient and the family cope with the illness.
The seminar was jointly organised by Ashraya and the Centre for Law and Policy Research.
Source : The Hindu , 23rd June 2013
Source : The Hindu , 23rd June 2013
With due respect to all well-meaning comments for further improvements needed in the MH Care Bill 2012, let us remember no legislation at any given point of time can be said to be perfect. Every draft of legislation is an evolving document over a period of time. Let us sincerely implement the collectively and studiously drafted bill, gain experience, identify scope for specific changes and let us make the changes. Implementation should be the very soul of all the effort made so far. Discouraging and intemperate criticism need to be suspended for a reasonable time.
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