New Mental Health Act will replace N.W.T.'s 'really outdated' one, says health minister

The new Mental Health Act for the N.W.T. will come into force on Sept. 1.

The previous version of the act, which oversees how to deal with people whose acute psychiatric needs make them a risk to themselves or others, was from 1988.

Health Minister Glen Abernethy told CBC the act was "really outdated."

In a press release, the territorial health department wrote that the act would help "modernize" care in the Northwest Territories and "better protect the rights, safety and well-being of individuals living with mental illness."

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The act was passed in 2015, and it was expected to take effect about a year later.

But Abernethy said writing regulations, creating websites and new documents, and training staff before the act was implemented took more time.

Now, under the legislation, we can compel people to take their medications.- Glen Abernethy, N.W.T. health minister

In June, more than 180 health and social services staff were trained in the act and their new responsibilities under it, Abernethy said. New paperwork was also developed to meet the act's requirements.

New options for doctors

Under the new act, health professionals will be allowed to hold people in crisis for three days for an involuntary initial assessment — that's up from the two-day limit in the previous act.

People in crisis can also be forced to stay in involuntary treatment for up to 30 days, up from a limit of 14 days. In both the old and new act, those stays could be renewed if the person is still unwell, but the processes and timelines around those renewals have changed.

There is also a new "assisted community treatment" option for approved individuals.

The treatment option means that people held involuntarily for treatment have the option of continuing that involuntary treatment in their home community, rather than out of a facility.

They would check in regularly with their community clinic and receive medication there.

"Now, under the legislation, we can compel people to take their medications," Abernethy explained.

There could also be other rules in their treatment plan. If the patient wasn't following their plan, RCMP officers could be sent to bring the patient to a health professional, according to health department spokesperson Sara Chorostkowski. 

More recourse for patients

Another change is the creation of a mental health review board.

Before, patients who felt they were being held involuntarily had to go to the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories, said Chorostkowski​, who calls that old process "pretty intimidating for people and probably not overly accessible."

Now, patients can apply to the newly-created board to hear their case.

The board can also hear from a patient's doctor or guardian, or others involved in the case.

That might happen if the doctor and patient are in conflict over the best treatment, or over whether the patient should have a different substitute decision maker, for example. 

There are also new rules about disclosing patient rights.

"Any time somebody is going to be taken down this road ... the patient has to be notified of their rights," said Chorostkowski​. "There is a form that is a notification of their rights ... but it also has to be explained to them."

New posters explaining those rights have been made that will have to be put up where patients can see them.

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