A case study of legal and ethical considerations of Mental Health in New Zealand
An overview of the guidelines of the Act. This is a journey to bring the reader to understand the important sections of the act related to the patient John in the case study.
Explain the procedures from section 8-11. Also explain some key terms like definition of “mental illness”, criteria for dentention and so son. Explain the patient’s rights under the Act. Review related sections of the mental health ACT. You can also refer to the exemplars and synthesize the information.
Critically analyse the influence of these guidelines on the Mental Health (New Zealand Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992, and the influence of this Act upon the prevention or management of a mental health disorder.
Reflect on and provide an overview of the ethical principles used in a mental health setting and how these principles are integrated into the assessment and treatment processes for a client in a mental health setting.
Critically evaluate these principles to identify the tensions that can arise for the nurse in reference to the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992 and how these ethical principles could be better applied to enhance mental health practice.
Case profile:
John, a 22-year-old university student diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia was receiving community care due to his command hallucinations. John’s symptoms became worse when he stopped going to the community mental health center for counselling and medication. He has become increasingly paranoid believing that God sends him personal commands to harm his neighbours. John was admitted to an acute mental health facility because of his psychosis and hallucinatory threats of harm to others. The Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment & Treatment) Act 1992 was initiated due to these risks, and he is now detained under Section 11 of the Mental Health Act.
