Pretoria - Gauteng Health and Social Development MEC Qedani Mahlangu has appointed a Mental Health Review Board to ensure the rights of people with mental illness are known and protected.
The board members consist of a legal expert, mental health care practitioner and a community representative. The members will visit over 100 institutions including psychiatric hospitals and mental health NGOs regularly to monitor whether they comply with the Mental Health Care Act.
The rights of people with mental illness include being treated with respect, human dignity and privacy, not to be unfairly discriminated against and not to be exploited and abused.
The board represents patients who feel that they have been unfairly treated at an institution. It will also make sure that only those patients who should be in an institution are admitted and those who can be treated as out-patients are not forced to be in an institution.
"During these site visits, members of the board will educate patients on their rights as well as mental health practitioners on how to handle mental health patients, they also alert the department on areas that needs improvement to ensure quality service delivery," the MEC said.
She added that working with NGOs and other relevant stakeholders, the board members will participate in activities that ensure that once discharged from a mental health institution, patients are integrated back into communities and there are support groups to assist them to deal with any form of discrimination they might face in their communities.
During October, which is Mental Health Awareness Month, the department with the help of the board will be focusing on families living with mentally ill persons, encouraging mental health users to comply with their treatment and focus on rehabilitation.
"Support groups will also be encouraged to ensure smooth integration into society once the patients are discharged."
The Gauteng Mental Health Care Review Board can be contacted on (011) 355-3375/3279/3413
