Described as “perhaps the most interesting piece of health-related legislation to be tabled this session”, the Mental Health Care Bill is expected to be enacted by the end of the year.

“If the process remains on track it will be enacted before the end of the year,” said health minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.

She said it had been passed by Cabinet and was ready to go to Parliament’€™s Health Portfolio Committee.

This is the first new law on mental health care in 28 years.

According to the minister the bill takes a fresh look at mental health care and moves away from a model that depended heavily on institutionalizing individuals almost indefinitely to an approach that is much more consistent with the Bill of Rights.

Among other things the draft Bill replaces the old system of “committal” of patients to psychiatric hospitals, with the concepts of assisted and involuntary care. Involuntary care may apply to persons receiving treatment either in the community ‘€“ as outpatients ‘€“ or in psychiatric hospitals.

The draft legislation provides for more regular reviews of patients in involuntary care to assess their suitability for discharge and sets up Review Boards to do this job.

It defines how basic human rights are to be interpreted in relation to individuals who are unable to exercise independent judgement.

The Bill also provides that individuals subject to involuntary institutional care are entitled to legal representation and stipulates that they should be eligible for legal aid if they cannot afford a lawyer.

Another aspect in which it upholds human rights is in terms of access to information. “The blanket of secrecy that the old Mental Health Act threw over psychiatric hospitals by virtually banning media access has been lifted in the new law,” Tshabalala-Msimang said.

She said the draft law had been widely consulted with organizations involved in mental health care.

Other forthcoming legislation discussed by the minister at the parliamentary briefing included the Medical Schemes Amendment Bill, the Medicines Control Amendment Act regulations and the National Health Laboratory Services Amendment Bill.

She said the long-awaited National Health Bill had some Constitutional issues that needed to be cleared that it had now been referred back to Minmec (meeting between the minister and provincial MECs). “It should go out for public comment this year,” she said. ‘€“ Health-e News Service