Involuntary patients awareness of their entitlement to appeal an admission and existence of the mental health review board in South Africa.
South Africa's mental health law is person-centred, has a strong human rights emphasis, and includes the appointment of mental health review boards (MHRB) to provide oversight and consider appeals against involuntary admissions. Owing to the low number of appeals, this study aimed to determine the proportion of involuntary patients who were aware of their right to appeal at two public sector psychiatric hospitals in KwaZulu Natal Province.
A group of conveniently selected involuntary patients was interviewed in a descriptive study that entailed the collection of quantitative data through the administration of a study-specific questionnaire, and the Birchwood Insight Scale from June 2020 to December 2020.
Of the 131 participants, most were unemployed (72.5 %) and had at least a high school level of education (61.06 %). The majority were diagnosed with a psychotic disorder (79.4 %), with a median duration of admission of 17.00 days (IQR 9.00, 69.00), and 63.4 % had good insight into their illness. Not a single patient appealed the current involuntary admission, and only one patient appealed a previous admission. Only 11.5 % of the participants were aware that they had the right to appeal their admission, and 8.4 % were aware of the existence of the MHRB.
Most patients were unaware of their legal right to appeal and of the MHRB, highlighting the challenges in implementing the letter and practice of the law in underresourced settings without the necessary pre-conditions to fully realise its spirit.
A group of conveniently selected involuntary patients was interviewed in a descriptive study that entailed the collection of quantitative data through the administration of a study-specific questionnaire, and the Birchwood Insight Scale from June 2020 to December 2020.
Of the 131 participants, most were unemployed (72.5 %) and had at least a high school level of education (61.06 %). The majority were diagnosed with a psychotic disorder (79.4 %), with a median duration of admission of 17.00 days (IQR 9.00, 69.00), and 63.4 % had good insight into their illness. Not a single patient appealed the current involuntary admission, and only one patient appealed a previous admission. Only 11.5 % of the participants were aware that they had the right to appeal their admission, and 8.4 % were aware of the existence of the MHRB.
Most patients were unaware of their legal right to appeal and of the MHRB, highlighting the challenges in implementing the letter and practice of the law in underresourced settings without the necessary pre-conditions to fully realise its spirit.