Queensland Consolidated Acts

MENTAL HEALTH ACT 2016 - SECT 220

220 Patient’s obligations to be recorded and explained

(1) This section applies if a patient who is subject to a treatment authority, forensic order or treatment support order is authorised under this Act to receive treatment in the community outside an authorised mental health service.

(2) An authorised doctor must decide—

(a) the treatment and care to be provided to the patient while receiving the treatment in the community; and

(b) the patient’s obligations while receiving the treatment in the community, including, for example, obligations to attend scheduled appointments with the patient’s treating health service.

(3) In deciding the matters mentioned in subsection (2) , the authorised doctor must discuss the matters with the person.

(4) Before the patient physically leaves the authorised mental health service to receive the treatment in the community, the authorised doctor must—

(a) explain to the patient the matters mentioned in subsection (2) ; and

(b) record in the patient’s health records the matters mentioned in subsection (2) ; and

(c) give the patient a written notice summarising the matters mentioned in subsection (2) .

(5) An authorised doctor is required to comply with subsection (4) only once for each type of treatment in the community authorised for the patient under this Act.

Example—

If a patient is authorised to receive treatment in the community in the form of day leave on each day of 1 week, an authorised doctor for the authorised mental health service is required to comply with subsection (4) only once, and not on each day of the week.

(6) This section does not apply if the treatment in the community authorised for the patient under this Act is escorted day leave.

(7) In this section—

"escorted day leave" , for a patient in an authorised mental health service, means the patient, for a period of not more than 1 day and not overnight—

(a) is authorised to be physically away from the service; and

(b) is required to remain in the physical presence of an employee of the service while physically away from the service.