Constitutional: Court overrides Mental Health Care Act ruling

The National Department of Health won a Constitutional Court bid upholding the Mental Health Care Act, reports EWN. The department challenged a High Court ruling that found the Act – which regulates the involuntary admission of mental health patients – was inconsistent with the Constitution. Civil rights group the Makana People’s Centre took the government to court, arguing section 33 and 34 of the Constitution justified the deprivation of liberty which is unlawful and resulted in the violations seen in the Life Esidimeni tragedy. Some 144 psychiatric patients died in Gauteng in 2016 when the provincial Department of Health moved them to ill-equipped NGOs. At the heart of Makana People’s Centre’s plight is that under the Mental Healthcare Act, a person can be detained and held against their will for 10 days before the appropriateness of their detention can be considered by a review board. It takes a further 30 days for the board to consider an involuntary patient’s detention and another month for the courts to make a final decision.

The rights group argued that in the meantime, the patient was being deprived of their liberty, which is unconstitutional. But Justice Owen Rogers ruled the Act provides sufficient procedural safeguards for mental health patients. ‘Once the case reaches a review board it will be considered by a mental health practitioner, a lawyer, and a community member. It is only after these processes have been followed that a judge becomes potentially involved. In many cases the matter will never reach a judge.’ Ultimately the apex court has set aside the High Court ruling that found that the involuntary detention of mental health patients in terms of the Mental Health Act was unconstitutional and invalid.