Posted on: February 15, 2023
Island Health's Mental Health Act of BC Process Requirements policy outlines education and practice requirements for leadership, physicians and staff who regularly admit and treat persons who are involuntarily admitted under the MHA.
In addition to this, and as part of the improvement work, the Ministry of Health has revised some of the MHA forms. The first of the form revisions is the medical certificate (Form 4). The medical certificate is the MHA form used to start or continue the involuntary admission and treatment for a person experiencing a severe and persistent mental disorder who also is not able to appreciate their need for psychiatric treatment to address the symptoms of their disorder.
The Ministry of Health is supporting implementation by allowing health authorities an implementation period to provide education and support tools to physicians, nurse practitioners and all staff who regularly and actively provide care and treatment to persons who are involuntarily receiving psychiatric treatment under the MHA.
During this implementation period (February 1, 2023 to January 31, 2024):
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You may be asked to complete the updated MHA online education module that will be available April 1, 2023,
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Updated MHA practice support tools will be available through Island Health's Mental Health Act intranet site (Updated practice tools will be posted to the site February 21, 2023),
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Use of Form 4.1 and Form 4.2 will increase as practices evolve and,
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The current Form 4 will no longer be recognized as a legal MHA form as of February 1, 2024, with the exception of active involuntary admissions that are started on or before January 31, 2024.
More communications and information will be shared throughout the implementation period to support your learning and support changes in practice.
Please feel free to share your thoughts, comments and questions to MHASupport@islandhealth.ca