“Committal Too Easy”

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 575, 30 January 1929, Page 12

“Committal Too Easy”

MENTAL DEFECTIVES ACT QUESTIONED SCIENTISTS PROTEST I That the new Mental Defectives Act is too sweeping inasmuch as it is now possible for people to be committed to a mental hospital without having been before a magistrate, was stated at a : meeting of the Science Congress yesterday. The qualifications of doctors who • were called on to examine patients were questioned, and it was suggested that the ordinary medical practitioner 1 was not competent to decide on such , cases. A motion asking for greater safeguards was passed and will be forwarded to the Prime Minister and th© Minister of Health. The meeting was a joint one of the anthropology section of the congress i and the Auckland Education Society. ; Dr. I. L. G. Sutherland, lecturer on j philosophy at Victoria - College, pre- j sided. Discussion was opened by Dr. . Sutherland, who said he thought the | undesirable features had been cleared ; from the Bill. However, the present : position was not satisfactory, and fur- , ther safeguards were necessary, in ! view of one or two cases causing con- ; siderable comment in Wellington of ; the committal of persons to mental hospitals. He quoted a letter from a Welling- j ton newspaper strongly protesting ! against the circumstances of the committal to Porirua of a woman well ! known to the writer. The writer specially complained that the request for committal had to be made by only one person, that the examining doctor j was chosen by that person and that | no examination was made of the patient’s past history. She expressed ; doubt whether her friend would re- | cover from th© shock of finding herself | in the mental hospital. As a result of publicity the woman j had been discharged. Another woman j had been temporarily confined at j Porirua, and when released had found j that her child had died during her absence. Dr. W. Anderson said the legisla- j tion which came into force at the be- i ginning of this year would make the position worse than it had been under j the old legislation. Under guise of getting away from the unpleasant as- I sociations of the Police Court it was j now possible for persons to be com- j mitted to a mental hospital without j having been before a magistrate at i all. There was a strong case for defin- ; ing clearly what persons were entitled ! to initiate proceedings for the committal of others, and that privilege should not be available to the public at large. The Act had been too sweeping in wiping out reference to the magistrate. Now the magistrate did not appoint one of the examining doctors, as had been done in the past.

The ordinary medical practitioner was not competent to decide on such cases, said one delegate. The new Act was an improvement insofar as it provided for a period of observational treatment, but the initial committal was too easy. This could be adjusted by a system of double certification.

A case of a man who became violent after an epileptic fit was described by another delegate. The man was about to be sent to a mental hospital -when half a dozen of his friends undertook to take charge of him. In three days he was normal again and was now in an important position, earning £1,200 a year. Had his friends not intervened at the moment the man would undoubtedly have been a permanent patient in a mental hospital.

After further discussion the following resolution was unanimously adopted on the motion of Professor H. Belshaw, seconded by Mr. H. J. D. Mahon; —“That, in view of recent cases adequate safeguards against the improper committal of persons to mental hospitals should be provided by means of a revision of the existing law and practice.” This resolution will be forwarded to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Health.