psych business

[K]

Police charged over alleged brutality after media expose

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/police-charged-over-alleged-brutality-after-media-expose-20180831-p5012y.html

[K]

What is mental illness?

The definition given in the Mental Health Act 2014:

"(1) Subject to subsection (2), mental illness is a medical condition that is characterised by a significant disturbance of thought, mood, perception or memory.
(2) A person is not to be considered to have mental illness by reason only of any one or more of the following—"
... <long list covering beliefs, sexuality, politics, religion, race, social status, etc.> ...
"(n) that the person is or has previously been involved in family conflict;
(o) that the person has previously been treated for mental illness."



M. Eburn says:

"It should be noted that evidence of an intention to self harm or even to kill oneself is not evidence of a mental illness (Stuart v Kirkland Veenstra [2009] HCA 15; ‘the fact that a person has attempted suicide or prepared to attempt suicide is not of itself sufficient to support an inference that the person is mentally ill (French CJ at [54]); see also Gummow, Hayne and Heydon JJ at [92]-[98]; Crennan And Kiefel JJ [147]-[151]).
...

It’s not good faith to decide to treat someone in a way you think is good for them if they refuse that treatment and are competent to do so. It is certainly not good faith to rely on a provision in circumstances where it is not only intended not to apply but clearly on its face does not apply.

As for the assertion ‘if he walks out of hospital and in front of a truck, it’s my arse that will be on the line’ that is both wrong and unprofessional. It is wrong as personal autonomy is a key principle in the law and there is no duty to act when there is no power to act. In Stuart v Kirkland Veenstra members of Victoria police did not take a man into custody who had been sitting in his car with a pipe leading into the car from the exhaust. They spoke to the man and formed the view that he was not mentally ill ... There was no evidence of ‘significant disturbance of thought, mood, perception or memory’ and so the power under the Mental Health Act 1986 (Vic) s 10 did not come into play. ... He later went home and took his own life. The High Court agreed and set the precedent that there was no duty to act in those circumstances. The Act was to ensure those that were mentally ill and a danger to themselves received treatment, it was not a general provision to prevent a suicide, suicide being no longer illegal nor of itself, evidence of mental illness.

The Victorian Act and the Queensland Act are certainly not there to provide a salve to the emotions of paramedics by allowing them to detain people to protect their own interest or to ease the burden on an emergency unit."


https://emergencylaw.wordpress.com/2014/02/13/paramedics-and-the-mentally-ill-queensland/

[HAL]

Morally wrong?

[think positive]

[K]

Yep, TP. And what about the trophy photo?

"As the spray buffets his face, the lead cop – the one who capsicum-sprayed John and punched him in the back – reaches for his mobile phone and appears to activate its video camera. But before he can begin recording, the policeman spraying John’s eyes and nostrils moves to put the hose away.

The cop with the camera stops him. He wants the money shot. Grinning, he manoeuvres into position, like a wedding photographer, while his mate waits. Then the camera rolls, and once again the spray buffets John’s face."

Barbaric behaviour.

[K]

Err... This was supposed to be a link to a video of yet another incident, but the video seems to be something else... Will edit or recycle post later, perhaps...

I note the Vic Police statement on the incident says in part:

"Dedicated mental health training has been compulsory for all police recruits since 2011.

From July 2018, a baseline training package on effective communication and de-escalation tactics has been included in the bi-annual training that all police, protective service officers and police custody officers are required to complete."


But the incidents caught on camera are not the result of lack of knowledge or skills; they are the result of lack of basic respect for fellow human beings. (And, by "bi-annual", does Vic. Police mean every six months or every two years? As written, it means the former; the latter is "biennial".)

[K]

[think positive]

Not sure what this is about, but the question of wether tattoos should be on reports, they are a bloody good way of identifying people! And isn’t that what police do with most reports? Make sure it’s the right suspect, patient, person?

[luvdids]

[K]

^ I already agreed previously that it is a VPT question. I therefore put it in what seems a suitable VPT thread.

[K]

[K]

Productivity Commission to examine mental health spending in wake of suicide crisis

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/productivity-commission-to-examine-mental-health-spending-in-wake-of-suicide-crisis-20181006-p50850.html

[K]

A little bit off the main topic, but...

School students' private medical details leaked in privacy breach

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/students-private-medical-details-leaked-in-privacy-breach-20181012-p509dr.html

[Pies4shaw]

They were plainly confidential observations. It’s the newspaper that went with the “medical” tag.

[think positive]

Yeah the only thing wrong here is the records being leaked.