Western Australian Current Acts

MENTAL HEALTH ACT 2014 - SECT 19

19 .         Explanation of proposed treatment must be given

        (1)         Before a person is asked to make a treatment decision about the provision of treatment to a patient, the person must be provided with a clear explanation of the treatment —

            (a)         containing sufficient information to enable the person to make a balanced judgment about the treatment; and

            (b)         identifying and explaining any alternative treatment about which there is insufficient knowledge to justify it being recommended or to enable its effect to be predicted reliably; and

            (c)         warning the person of any risks inherent in the treatment.

        (2)         The extent of the information required under subsection (1) to be provided to a person is limited to information that a reasonable person in the person’s position would be likely to consider significant to the treatment decision unless the person providing the information knows, or could reasonably have been expected to know, that the person is likely to consider other information to be significant to the treatment decision.

        (3)         Subsection (1) applies despite any privilege claimed by a person.

        Note for this section:

                Any explanation provided under section 19(1) must be provided in accordance with section 9(2).