New Mental Health Bill 'not transformative', say experts

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-12-13 00:01

New Zealand

Photo by Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash

Despite being a 'once-in-a-generation opportunity', Aotearoa's new Mental Health Bill is much the same as the 1992 Act that it is meant to replace, according to an editorial in NZ Medical Journal. The authors highlight several issues with the Bill, which addresses compulsory mental health treatment, including 'substitute decision making' when someone experiencing distress is found to lack capacity for decision making. They also say civil and criminal provisions being included in the same Bill could worsen stigma around mental health, and that it doesn't comply with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Their recommendations include centring the Bill on supported decision-making by people experiencing distress, including through wide use of advance directives, and compliance with the Convention.

Media release

From: Pasifika Medical Association Group

New Zealand has the opportunity to update its mental health legislation and implement a person-centric, human rights approach that fosters supported decision making and allows people who experience psychosocial distress the ability to have their voices heard and will and preferences followed by a rigorous inclusion of advance directives in the new legislation. The current Bill fails to do this; it is essentially the old Act with some new lipstick. We urge anyone who has been—or has yet to be—impacted by psychosocial distress to make a submission to Parliament on the draft Bill to encourage it to be made human rights compliant for the coming generation.

Multimedia

Video commentary from Paul and Jesse Glue

Journal/
conference: New Zealand Medical Journal

Organisation/s: University of Otago, University of Waikato, Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand

Funder: The manuscript was supported by the 2022 Health Delivery Research Grant HE23/002 from the Health Research Council. Competing interests: Paul Glue has a research contract with Douglas Pharmaceuticals to develop an extended-release ketamine tablet formulation. He has received funding from James Hume Fund and Oakley Foundation for work on advance directives and is on two DSMCs for HRC-funded psychedelic studies. Jessie Lenagh-Glue is a HDEC Central lay member and the vice president of New Zealand Brain Tumour Trust. Giles Newton-Howes is a member of the SAC Mental Health for Pharmac and the immediate past president of the ISSPD board.

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