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Under section 517 of the Mental Health Act 2014, the Minister for Mental Health may request the Chief Psychiatrist to report to the Minister on a particular matter, or on matters generally, relating to the Chief Psychiatrist’s functions.
These reports, typically called reviews, may be thematic in nature centred around a particular area of clinical practice, or may be targeted reviews exploring a specific episode or episodes of care provided to an individual or group of patients, or where there are concerns about the overall performance of a particular mental health service.
The Chief Psychiatrist has published the following reviews under the Mental Health Act 2014:
- Targeted Review: Homicides allegedly committed by people who have had contact with, or were being treated by, WA Mental Health Services during 2018 (2020)
- Chief Psychiatrist’s Review into the Treatment of Ms Kate Savage by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (2020)
- Building rehabilitation and recovery services for people with severe enduring mental illness and complex needs – including those with challenging behaviour (2021)
- Clinical Monitoring Program Targeted Review: Segregation of Children from Adult Inpatients (2023)
Private Psychiatric Hostel monitoring
The oversight of the Chief Psychiatrist extends beyond private and public hospitals to include private psychiatric hostels. These hostels, accredited by Department of Health’s Licensing and Registration Unit (LARU), are defined by the Hospitals and Health Services Act 1927 as private premises in which 3 or more persons who are socially dependent because of mental illness; and are not members of the family of the proprietor of the premises, reside and are treated or cared for.
From 2018 to 2023, the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist ran a continuous monitoring function with private psychiatric hostels. As a part of this function, the office produced an annual snapshot of hostels – a census taken on a single day to measure the demographics and circumstances of hostel residents, as well as details about their health, access to care and hospital presentations.
- Private Psychiatric Hostel Snapshot 2023
- Private Psychiatric Hostel Snapshot 2022
- Private Psychiatric Hostel Snapshot 2021
- Private Psychiatric Hostel Snapshot 2020
- Private Psychiatric Hostel Snapshot 2018
Visits to mental health services
Under section 521 of the Mental Health Act 2014, the Chief Psychiatrist may visit an authorised hospital with or without notice; and may visit a mental health service that is not an authorised hospital whenever the Chief Psychiatrist reasonably suspects that proper standards of treatment and care are not being met.
The outcomes of these visits may include a report provided to the service with recommendations to improve compliance with the Mental Health Act 2014 and the Chief Psychiatrist’s standards, as well as recommendations to improve overall standards of treatment and care.