Supported Admission (Involuntary admission) under Sec 89 of Mental Healthcare Act, 2017

Supported Admission (Involuntary admission) under Sec 89 of Mental Healthcare Act, 2017

Admission and treatment of persons with mental illness, with high support needs, in mental health establishment, up to thirty days (supported admission) under the The Mental Health Care Act, 2017.

The Mental Health Care Act, 2017, India was passed on 7th April 2017 and came into force on 7th April 2018. The new law defines itself as “an act to provide for mental healthcare and services for persons with mental illness and to protect, promote, and fulfil the rights of such persons during delivery of mental healthcare and services and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto”

89. (1) The medical officer or mental health professional in charge of a mental health establishment shall admit every such person to the establishment, upon application by the nominated representative of the person, under this section, if––

(a) the person has been independently examined on the day of admission or in the preceding seven days, by one psychiatrist and the other being a mental health professional or a medical practitioner, and both independently conclude based on the examination and, if appropriate, on information provided by others, that the person has a mental illness of such severity that the person,––

(i) has recently threatened or attempted or is threatening or attempting to cause bodily harm to himself; or

(ii) has recently behaved or is behaving violently towards another person or has caused or is causing another person to fear bodily harm from him; or

(iii) has recently shown or is showing an inability to care for himself to a degree that places the individual at risk of harm to himself;

(b) the psychiatrist or the mental health professionals or the medical practitioner, as the case may be, certify, after taking into account an advance directive, if any, that admission to the mental health establishment is the least restrictive care option possible in the circumstances; and (c) the person is ineligible to receive care and treatment as an independent patient because the person is unable to make mental healthcare and treatment decisions independently and needs very high support from his nominated representative in
making decisions.

(2) The admission of a person with mental illness to a mental health establishment under this section shall be limited to a period of thirty days.

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