Mental Health Care Bill, 2016: A boon or bane?

Founding and managing a mental health establishment under the Mental Healthcare Act 2017

“…NABH guidelines include 10 chapters, namely the assessment of the patient, continuation of care, medication management, safety, hospital infection control, continued quality improvement, the responsibility of the management, etc. [ 20 21 ] Although NABH does not include specific guidelines for psychiatric practice, it does lay down guidelines for the documentation of procedures, the use of physical and chemical restraints, the use of psychotropic's and narcotics and the safety of the patient and protocol for falls. Furthermore, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) can be tailor-made, such as SOP for violent/aggressive patients, suicide alert SOP, ECT SOP, biofeedback SOP, etc., as per the departmental policy, with an additional consent form as per need.…”

“…[ 14 ] The NR of the client has the onus to provide a copy of the advance directive (AD), if any, that has been registered at the MHRB. [ 21 ] On receipt of the application, two independent assessments by psychiatrists and a Medical officer/another MHP is mandated, and subsequently, the patient can be admitted as a supported admission to the MHE, if it is the only available least restrictive option, for up to 30 days. The local MHRB has to be intimated of such admissions within the specified time frame for reviews and approvals (72 h for women and children, 7 days for men).…”

Implications of Mental Healthcare Act 2017 for geriatric mental health care delivery: A critical appraisal

“…Along with above, another important change was the protection of the rights of mentally ill people during the provision of services in mental health establishments. [ 13 ] In MHCA 2017, there are 16 chapters and 126 sections with numerous subsections and clauses. [ 14 ] Most of the provisions of MHCA 2017 apply to patients with mental illness in general.…”

“…The challenges and issues related to MHCA 2017 have been discussed extensively in the context of general mental health care. [ 13 ] In this article, we discuss the specific provisions in the act that have significant implications for the mental health care of the older adults.…”

“…The implementation of the AD provision, even in general adult population with mental illness, has several challenges. [ 13 20 ]…”