What is your role at Eastern Health?
My title is Medico-legal Mental Health Tribunal Contact Officer. I'm based at the Maroondah campus of Eastern Health. We have quite a large in-patient facility of 50 beds.
In my role I process all the legal papers that are needed for the tribunal hearings, make sure the reports from the treating team are ready on time, and co-ordinate and schedule the hearings.
I have a lot of contact with in-patients, explaining what happens at the tribunal, letting them know that it's their forum to have a say about their treatment, and encouraging them to learn their rights and understand their options.
Some patients have been discharged but are still having compulsory treatment, and that means they need to have tribunal hearings within the legislative timeframe. I communicate with them by letter and phone, letting them know the dates and times, whether they need legal representation, and finding out if they plan to attend their hearing.
I've worked in the mental health units for 15 years now – and before then I was actually a police officer. I’ve been at Eastern Health for 25 years in total.
What has changed with the introduction of the new mental Health Act?
The most obvious change is that we now have two tribunal hearings a week, as under the new Mental Health Act 2014 hearings must be held within 28 days of a person's admission (previously we only had one hearing a week).
Previously patients were often already discharged by the time their hearing could be scheduled. Because the criteria for involuntary treatment has changed quite a lot, quite a few people were discharged in the early weeks of the Act's operation as they were re-assessed. At the moment, we have not seen many re-admissions of those patients, which is the outcome we hoped for.
It's still very early days and it's a bit too soon to really assess the Act's impact. We're finding our feet, and I think we'll know a lot more in the next six to twelve months.
In terms of the Act's goals, I think it's a really good objective that people will have more say and more responsibility about their own treatment, though I can also understand that some families feel nervous about this. It will take some time for us to be able to judge how it really comes together in practice.
How do you work in with Victoria Legal Aid?
We have an excellent relationship. I work closely with Senior Lawyer Robyn Mills in letting her know about the hearing schedules, and we encourage people to get in touch with Victoria Legal Aid to understand their rights. Robyn's been coming here a long time, in fact we like to say our children have grown up together. She's very well-respected by everyone here, and her approach is very nurturing and makes clients feel at ease.
We also have a very good working relationship with Victoria Legal Aid’s Ringwood office.
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