Mental Health Act engagement

Overview

We gathered feedback on elements of the Mental Health Act to inform changes that will help modernize the act and ensure it meets legal requirements. The act:

• deals with the assessment, treatment and rights of people with serious mental health disorder (illness) in certain situations
• outlines how a person can be apprehended, detained and/or given treatment in a hospital or the community, under specific conditions

In July 2019, Alberta was given one year to amend specific sections of the act to comply with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We gathered input on the following issues:

• how to balance the rights of people with serious mental illness and the public to be protected with a person’s right not be detained without good reason
• how to ensure people are informed of their rights if they are detained
• types of health professionals who can have a role in deciding whether a person can be detained under the act or supervising patients receiving treatment in the community
• the use of technology to better support patients and other ways to improve efficiency
• changes to parts of the act that deal with the ability of patients to make treatment decisions