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Mental Health Care Act, 2002 (Act No. 17 of 2002)

Regulations

General Regulations

Chapter 4 : Transfer and Discharge

18. Involuntary outpatient mental health care user

 

(1) If a mental health care user’s mental health care status warrants further involuntary care, treatment and rehabilitation services on an outpatient basis in terms of section 34(3) or section 34(5) of the Act, the head of the health establishment concerned must provide that user and his or her custodian with a schedule of conditions relating to his or her outpatient care, treatment and rehabilitation in the form of Form MHCA 10 of the Annexure.

 

(2) The schedule of conditions contemplated in subregulation (1) must be read and explained to the mental health care user and to his or her custodian or read and translated into one of the official languages that such user can understand.

[Regulation 18(2) substituted by regulation 10(a) of Notice No. 1590, GG 41505, dated 23 December 2016]

 

(3) The conditions contemplated in subregulation (1) must include –
(a) the name of a custodian into whose care the mental health care user must be given;
(b) the name of the health establishment where the mental health care user’s mental health status must be monitored or reviewed and the timeframe of each review; and
(c) the name of the health establishment where treatment will be provided if such treatment is not provided in the health establishment referred to in paragraph (b);
(d) behavior which must be adhered to by the mental health care user; and
(e) the name of the psychiatric hospital or care and rehabilitation centre concerned where the mental health care user is to be admitted if –
(f) he or she relapses to the extent of being a danger to himself, herself or others if he or she remains an involuntary outpatient; or
(g) the conditions of outpatient care are violated.

[Regulation 18(3)(e) substituted by section (2)(3) of Notice No. 1590 of 2016]

 

(4) The health establishment concerned must forward the schedule of conditions to –
(a) the mental health care user;
(b) the custodian contemplated in subregulation (3)(a);
(c) every health establishment(s) contemplated in subregulation (3)(b) and (c); and
(d) the Review Board concerned.

 

(5) A mental health care user who does not accept such conditions regarding his or her involuntary outpatient care, treatment and rehabilitation must remain an involuntary inpatient mental health care user.

 

(6) A custodian into whose control a mental health care user has been entrusted must take over the responsibility for that user when the user is discharged from the health establishment concerned where he or she received inpatient care.

 

(7) If a custodian into whose control a mental health care user has been entrusted when that user was discharged, intends to change the place where that user resides and that change requires using another health establishment—
(a) where that user’s mental health status will be monitored or reviewed; and
(b) where treatment will be provided,

that custodian must apply in writing to the head of the current health establishment for transfer of that user to the other health establishment.

 

(8) If the head of the current health establishment and the head of the health establishment to where the mental health care user is to be transferred approve the application contemplated in subregulation (7), the mental health care user can be transferred to the other health establishment.

 

(9) Where a mental health care user does not present himself or herself for monitoring and review according to the conditions referred to in subregulation (1), and after the necessary measures have been taken by the health establishment concerned to locate such user, such user must be deemed to have absconded in terms of section 40(4) of the Act and in such a case the health establishment concerned shall inform the South African Police Services in the form of Form MHCA 25 of the Annexure.

[Regulation 18(9) substituted by  Notice No. R. 874, GG 38182, dated 6 November 2014]