MENTAL HEALTH ORDINANCE OUT FOR PUBLIC CONSULTATION

St Helena’s Mental Health Ordinance is a comprehensive piece of legislation with the primary aim of protecting individuals with mental health vulnerabilities.

The current Ordinance has recently been discussed in the Public Health Committee and recommendations were put forward to slightly amend the Ordinance. These recommendations relate to Human Rights obligations. For example, currently there are no provisions in the Ordinance for patients who need to have a guardian appointed to act on their behalf.

To ensure that Human Rights protections are in place for all, it is recommended that the suggested changes are made to the Mental Health Ordinance.

A short public consultation, led by Councillor Cyril George and Community Psychiatric Nurse, Ian Rummery, on proposed changes to the Ordinance will run until Friday 9 October 2015. It is hoped that the new Mental Health Ordinance incorporating any comments received can then be taken to the next formal Legislative Council meeting in November.

Community Psychiatric Nurse, Ian Rummery, commented:

“The new Mental Health Ordinance will be a positive development for the care and treatment of some of the most vulnerable members of our community.  It will protect their human rights and bring us into line with other mental health services internationally.”

Councillor Cyril George added:

“It’s a privilege for me to be presenting the Mental Health Ordinance for public consultation. I would like to thank Community Psychiatric Nurse Ian Rummery for his hard work in preparing this legislation.”  

Hardcopies of the Ordinance are available for viewing at the Public Library. The Ordinance can also be viewed under the Public Consultation section of the SHG website at https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/publications/

Comments should be sent in writing to the Secretary to Elected Members, Anita Legg, at the Castle or via email sec.em@helanta.co.sh by no later than 4pm on Friday 9 October 2015.

SHG

23 September 2015

 

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

St Helena Government Communications Hub

Telephone: 22470
Email: kimberley.peters@sainthelena.gov.sh