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WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, FFBRUARY 11, 1987, PAGE 7 Legal rights of the mentally ill NATALIE FRASER ROBERT SNELL Charter provides, access, knowledge Editor's Note: The following is the third sub- mission in a series of articles on various legal issues. Articles are written by Natalie Fraser, student-at-law in Whitby, and edited by lawyer Robert Snel. Whenever the rights of the mentally ill are debated, two competing goals emerge. One is the right of the individual to control his or her own life. The other is society's need to protect and heal those who are ill. This is a topic of particular significance in Whitby because one of the province's ten psychiatric hospitals is locatedhere. - Whitby Psychiatric Hospital was built over the period of 1912-1919. It was called the On- tario Hospital for the Insane then, and its cot- tage community with tree-lined winding roads reflected society's attitude of the time that the mentally ill should be set apart and isolated in their own small community. Times have changed. The modern attitude is, wherever possible, to integrate into the com- munity those whose mental illness can be con- trolled, with the appropriate support systems. However, the quaint cottages remain. Admissions to psychiatrie hospitals in On- tario are governed by the Mental Health Act, with the exception of the criminally insane, who are not provided for at the Whitby facility. *Patients may be admitted volun- tarily or involuntarily. The process of ad- mission can be commenced by a doctor, police officer, or upon application to a justice of the peace, if it is believed that a person is a danger to himself, to others, or is physically at risk because of being unable to care for himself. The person is then taken to a health facility for an assessment. The person may be kept for up to 120 hours for observation and examination. The examining physician may release the person, or admit him as a volun- tary or involuntary patient. A voluntary patient may leave when he wishes to; an in- voluntary patient may not. If admitted involuntarily, a review of the decision takes place automatically after the first two weeks, again after an additional month, then after an additional two months, and every third month after that. If on review the attending physician is of the opinion that the patient should remain involuntary, the certificate of admission is renewed. The patient has the right to challenge his admission or renewal of his admission cer- tificate by applying to the regional review board for a hearing. The patient may be represented by a lawyer at the hearing, and is entitled to acceSs to any documents or clinical records that will be used at the hearing. The patient may appeal from the decision of the review board to the courts. Just because a patient is involuntary does not necessarily mean that he or she can be forced to take medication, except for the pur- poses of restraint. The patient, or if the patient is incompetent, the patient's family, must consent to treatment. However, if proper consent cannot be obtained, the atten- ding physician can now apply t6 the review board for an order authorizing treatment. The board may not authorize psychosurgery; however, electroconvulsive or shock therapy bas been ruled not to be psychosurgery and therefore the board can authorize such treatment. In 1982, because of changing attitudes towards the mentally ill, and because of the focus on human rights due to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, several programs were-irfíplemented by the Ministry of Health to allow the mentally ill better ac- cess to and knowledge of their rights. One of these programs involved placing a patient advocate at each of the provincial psychiatric hospitals. The role of the patient advocates is to inform psychiatric patients of their rights and to assist them in solving their complaints through negotiation or referral to outside sources such as community groups, lawyers, or physicians who may offer a second opinion. Patient advocates work within the hospital and are able to discuss legal, social and therapeutie problems of the patients, in con- fidence. Karen Walker is the patient advocate at the Whitby Psychiatric Hospital. She feels very strongly that each patient has the right to choose the extent to which he or she will ac- cept treatment. If there is a conflict between the recommended treatment and that which the patient will accept, she will attempt to negotiate with the medical team for that patient. If a compromise cannot be reached through this route, she ensures that the patient's rights are protected, always acting on the patient's instructions, Questioning the decisions of the medical staff is a part of her job, although she believes -that the staff recognize and appreciate the importance of her work. Patient advocates' work is challenging, demanding, and sometimes lonely - they are helping the neediest of the needy. The Charter guarantees individual self- determination to all. The provincial gover- nment has recently drafted legislation which attempts to bring the Mental Health Act in line with the Charter. This legislation will come into effect in April of this year. One of the most significant changes it makes to existing law will be to eliminate the possibility of treatment of competent men- tally ill patients -without their consent. As noted above, under the present law treatment can proceed if the regional review board grants an order permitting the treatment. The trend in Ontario has been to expand the rights of the mentally ill. On the other hand, medical staff find it frustrating when decisions they make to help and heal the men- tally ill patient are questioned. This conflict reflects the competing interests society faces whenever it deals with the rights of the men- tally ill; the right of the individual to self- determination as against the right of society to protect and heal those who are ill. Accommodation decision soon FROM PAGE 3 southeast Whitby. Some students from Thornton will be going to the new kindergarten to Gr. 6 school. They will stay at Thornton until the school opens. One parent said ac- commodation in Sep- tember would be a "serious problem," arguing that "kids will be shuffled around like a sack of potatoes. "What about that?" she asked. Whitby trustee John Buchanan said the school is opening as soon as possible since the board received fun- ding for the school at a later date than usual. He noted that the board got approval for the school in 13 months rather than the normal 18 months needed. Susan Morrison, regional superintendent for the Ministry of Education, said decisions as to grant approval for new schools are usually made by the Province in April each year. But she said the ministry spent the summer considering requests for extra gran- ts because of student growth in v some regions, including Durham. As a result, said Morrison, the ministry decided in October on capital grant approval for Kendalwood to assist boards in what would have been a "crisis situation." However, she added, the board "knew there had to be more money coming." "Without that grant in October, I don't know what we'd do," said Yeo. Enrolment at Ken- dalwood when it opens has been projected at about 280, according to John Hinch, principal at Thornton. That enrolment is for Ken- dalwood as a kindergar- ten to Gr. 6 facility when it opens. The school will later become a kin- dergarten to Gr. 8 facility. Enrolment at Thor- nton, a kindergarten to Gr. 8 school, will be from 569 to 604 for the 1987-88 school year, said Hinch. He made that projec- tion based on growth from new developments in the area. The figure also includes Gr. 7 and 8 students who will later attend Kendalwood. Whitby trustee Patty Bowman, responding to a parent who disagreed with the method used to project enrolment, said the board would conduct a door-to-door count to get "realistic figures".if board staff have time. Hinch also said the new residential development would af- fect Kendalwood enrolment, . eventually lifting it to between 340 and 380 Break-m at Whitby clinie A rear groundfloor window was kicked in to gain access to the Whit- by Clinie at 200 Brock St. N. last week. 668-4000 Durham Regional Police report. access was not gained to doc- tors' offices and it is as yet unknown if anything DAVID J. RONEY Sales Representative was taken. The break-in occurred between 9 p.m. Thur- sday, Feb. 5 and ila.m. Friday, Feb. 6. 1 G RACE M. GRANT Sales Representative DEAR HOMEOWNER, You may have been noticing a decrease in the number of For Sale signs in the Whitby-Oshawa area during the last few months, and an increase in the number of Sold signs. The fact is that there has been a considerable amount of buying and selling through October to present time. However, we are now experiencing a drought in the number of New Listings being introduced·to the Market. Even Listings that have been on the Market for quite some time are selling now due to the shortage of homes. This information could be advantageous for you. Because selling homes is our profession, we are'always looking for people who are considering selling. We feel the reasons for selling your property now are positive ones. (1) There is a significant lack of properties for sale. (2) Interest Rates are at very reasonable levels. (3) Spring and Summer closings are now in demand. (4) We charge commission fees of 4% for Exclusive Sales and 5% for Sales on the Multiple Listing Service. (Something you may not have been aware of.) We have had a high portion of our listings sell recently and are offering you our same rates and services which includes an up-to-date Market Analysis through our on-line computer facility. When you decide to list -call us at 668.4000 MEMBER The Oshawa & District Real Estate Board The Ontario Real Estate Association The Canadian Real Estate Associat ic, CORPORATION OFTHE PLANNING TOWN OF WHITBY DEPARTMENT NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING Wednesday, February 25,1987,7:30 p.m. Meeting Hall, Whitby Municipal Building Whitby, Ontario RE: DOWNTOWN WHITBY SECONDARY PLAN STUDY f1fil i- - 1r'--r-r , At the above noted public meeting, the third Stage Il Report for the Downtown Secndar Plan Study will be presented. The report will address comments rece ved to the second Stage Il Report. 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