Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022

Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022

• CTO Update - Office of the Chief Psychiatrist

  The following update was received from the Clinical Manager, Office of the Chief Psychiatrist on Thursday 2 November regarding the ongoing discussion of CTO variations of clients of other designated mental health services, making of AO’s when a CTO is in place and emergency services transportation without legal paperwork.

  Can the authorised psychiatrist or delegate from another service vary another services CTO to ITO based on the assessment of a mental health clinician who is with the patient at the time?

  Yes, any authorised psychiatrist (or their delegate) can vary a temporary treatment order or treatment order.

  In practice, if an Authorised Psychiatrist (or delegate) at a service other than the designated mental health service responsible for a patient’s treatment (as listed on the order) is considering varying the order, it is expected that they would discuss this with the Authorised Psychiatrist at the responsible service. If the order is varied, responsibility for the person’s treatment will continue to sit with the designated mental health service listed on the original order. If the Authorised Psychiatrist from the responsible designated mental health service (as listed on the original order) and the Authorised Psychiatrist from the other service agree, responsibility for the patient’s treatment can be transferred to the other designated mental health service. This can be done by the Authorised Psychiatrist from the responsible designated mental health service (as listed on the original order) completing the MHWA 123 form. In making this decision, , the Authorised Psychiatrist must be satisfied the transfer is necessary for the patient’s assessment and treatment and must have regard to the patient’s views and preferences (including those expressed by their nominated support person) as well as the views of their carer, guardian or parent (if they are under 16 years) or the Secretary to DFFH, if that Secretary has parental responsibility for the patient.

   

  Confirm an AO cannot be made whilst the patient is subject to a CTO

  An assessment order should not be made while a patient is already subject to a community treatment order.

   

  Confirm Ambulance and police can transport a person to a designated service without the hard copy of the variation order.

  There is no requirement under the Act for a copy of the order to be provided to authorised persons, including police and ambulance paramedics, in order for them to provide transport under the Act. However, police and ambulance officers need to have certainty that they can exercise powers under the Act and have record keeping requirements to enable them to demonstrate why they have acted in specific circumstances if required. For that reason, an authorised person should be provided with a copy of the variation of the order wherever possible.

• Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 eLearning

  The Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 eLearning platform has been released under the guidance of Western Health LMS and the commitment of the Department of Health, MHWA Sector Implementation Team.

  The Mental Health & Wellbeing Act Training Module 1, 2, 3 and 4 are now available on WeLearn https://welearn.wh.org.au/course/view.php?id=995 staff need to complete this as soon as possible.

• Meeting Recordings August 10 2023

  See below links to the recording of the Mental Health Act 2022 meeting that was held on August 10 2023

  Part 1

  Part 2

  Part 3 

• Recording of the Department of Health Sector Briefing Session  

  See below the link to the recording of the Department of Health’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 Sector Briefing, that took place on Monday 14 August 2023.  

  Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022: Sector briefing – Zoom  

• Additional Training and Resources

  Education and Training Resources:

  Mental Health Victoria (MHV) is developing education and training resources for services that are newly regulated by the Act. MHV recently held a sector forum focused on the community sector and is currently planning additional forums as well as a ‘Regional Roadshow’ during August and September in Geelong, Ballarat, Keilor Downs and Morwell.  

  You can register your attendance here: 
  Regional Roadshow – Mental Health and Wellbeing Act Implementation project (jotform.com)  

   

  Department of Health Mental Health and Wellbeing Act Briefing Session

  Briefing session to support the implementation for the medical workforce – held on 28 August.

  1. MH Act Training – Medical Workforce presentation slides
  2. Video link https://vimeo.com/858847322/a261f1445a?share=copy

   

  Mental Health and Wellbeing Sector Forums and Summary Reports:  

  Mental health and wellbeing sector forums | health.vic.gov.au  

   

  Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission establishment update:  

  The new Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission (MHWC) will be established under the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 on 1 September 2023.   

  • Prior to 1 September 2023: individuals and services should continue to contact the MHCC using the contact details on their website. 
  • After 1 September 2023: people wishing to submit a complaint should do so via the new MHWC website when it launches. 

  Any complaints previously lodged with the MHCC will be automatically carried over to the MHWC, and the existing phone number and email address will remain active beyond 1 September.