2023-11-11 17:00:00
New Psychiatric Patient Care Law Introduces Strict Controls on Compulsory Admission
Amman, Jordan – A new draft law has been introduced in Jordan to regulate the controls and conditions for the compulsory admission of individuals for treatment in mental health facilities. The Psychiatric Patient Care Law aims to ensure that individuals are only admitted to mental health facilities under specific circumstances and with the approval of a psychiatrist.
According to the draft law, individuals may only be compulsorily admitted for treatment in a mental health facility in two specific cases. The first case is when there are clear signs indicating the presence of a severe mental illness that requires admission to a mental health facility, and there is a possibility of severe and imminent deterioration of the psychological condition. The second case is when the symptoms of mental illness represent a serious and imminent threat to the safety, health, or life of the patient or others.
In these two cases, the patient must refuse to enter the facility to receive necessary treatment, and the decision to compulsorily admit the patient must be reported to the facility director and the National Council for Mental Health or the Regional Council for Mental Health within twenty-four hours of admission.
Furthermore, the new law allows a doctor who does not specialize in psychiatry to enter a patient against his will for evaluation for a period not exceeding forty-eight hours, based on a written request submitted by a relative of the patient up to the second degree, a specialized police officer, a social worker, a specialized health inspector, the consul of the country to which a foreign patient belongs, or a psychiatric specialist who does not work in the facility.
The responsible psychiatrist may cancel the compulsory admission before the end of the period if there is no justification for it, and it is not permissible to give a psychiatric patient any treatment for his condition without his knowledge of its nature, purpose, effects, and alternatives.
The new law also stipulates that if a compulsory admission patient refuses to take prescribed treatment, the responsible psychiatrist has the right to compel the patient to undergo treatment before starting the compulsory treatment procedures.
Additionally, the psychiatrist must review the compulsory treatment procedures every four weeks at most, and if the mandatory treatment continues for more than three months, another independent medical evaluation must be obtained.
This new law sets out strict controls and conditions for the compulsory admission of individuals for treatment in mental health facilities, aiming to ensure that individuals are only admitted under specific circumstances and with the approval of a psychiatrist. It also seeks to protect the rights of psychiatric patients and ensure they receive necessary treatment in a responsible and ethical manner.]
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