Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Amendment Bill

Here and around the world, mental health illnesses are a growing public health issue.

It's been estimated that by 2020, depression will be the leading cause of the disease burden in developed countries.

Mental illness has traditionally been hidden. People were embarrassed to talk about it.

But it is everywhere in our community.

Virtually every New Zealand family will be touched by some form of mental illness at some point in their lives. It is never just the person who is ill who directly suffers. It is also the family. Mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, grand-mothers and fathers – none can escape being affected.

The lives of those who love and care for someone with a mental illness are often dramatically changed. And yet they don’t always have access to sufficient information and support to understand what is happening and how they can get through difficult times. It’s no wonder that families can feel isolated and desperate.

Today the stigma around mental illness is less damaging than it used to be - in large part thanks to heroes like ex-rugby player John Kirwan who has had the courage to front a very public campaign about depression.

Our Labour/Progressive government spent $6.7 million on this kind of public health campaign about depression, so that people suffering would know to reach out for help, and know that they were not alone.

It helped to de-stigmatise mental health by being more open about the issues.
We launched new mental health and suicide prevention strategies (Te Tahuhu - Improving Mental Health, and the New Zealand All-Ages Suicide Strategy.)

Part of that meant putting a strong emphasis on building a more responsive primary health care sector. Often a GP is the first line of assessment and treatment when someone turns up, often with their family, at their surgery in need of help.

The evidence showed us that good primary health care had the potential to have the largest impact on reducing mental illness. Studies also showed that the more families are involved with the treatment of their loved ones, the more rapid and long-term the recovery is likely to be. Getting people well as quickly as possible is important to all of us. The cost of mental illness is felt throughout our communities.

People suffering from depression have worse general health, take more time off work and their work is restricted when they are present. They make more use of health services, and experience poorer health-related quality of life.

If we want people to stand the best chance of getting better, we have to help the families of those who suffer from mental health problems as much as possible. Not just because in a caring society, that’s what we should do, but also because society benefits when people get better quicker, and stay well.

Despite the relative openness about mental illness today, when someone you love becomes ill, it is still devastating and often confusing for family members. Families don’t know how to help; they often blame themselves, and can feel lost and isolated. They can end up caring for loved ones with very little support and little information or knowledge about how to help someone get well again.

We owe a great debt to all those involved in caring for our mentally ill. When we think about the way our community looks after the mentally ill, we ask a lot from carers and families - and we recognise their work poorly.

This Bill is a major step towards recognising the importance of families and giving them back some control over their lives.

Once a practitioner decides it is appropriate to consult the family, this Bill gives the family the right to sufficient information so that they can make informed decisions. They will now be entitled to information about the illness and its diagnosis. They will be told about any expected side-effects from treatment, and how to deal with those side-effects. They will be given the opportunity to participate fully in the care and recovery of their loved one. That means including family in the plan to care for someone, and in its implementation. They will have the right to be consulted about a discharge plan.

And if they want, they can now seek a second opinion from another psychiatrist. They will start to feel like they have some say in a situation which can feel inexplicable and scary.

Even if a practitioner decides it is in the best interests of the patient not to directly involve the family, family members will still have a right to certain information.

At the very least, families should be entitled to information about mental illness in general and to be advised of strategies to cope. They should always have the right to provide relevant information, in confidence, about a family member.

If families are better informed about mental health illnesses in general, they will be better able to give support to an ill member of their own family.

This Bill has come at the right time. It will help families take back control and plan for the future.

ENDS

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