Lacking Insight - Community Law

Part 3 > The Involuntary Patient ExperienceWell how does that work, because don’t youneed to go before Freedom of Information so theycan black out bits.Not when it is a Review Board hearing?Okay then, I would do it.BF - ConsumerThe Board assesses the appropriateness of aperson’s treatment through questions asked at thehearing. The focus of the questions is to establishthe level of insight the person has into his or herillness and the need for treatment. It is difficult forthe person to argue against an alleged lack of insightwithout knowledge of the contents of the file andreport. The information the Board receives from aconsumer is seriously lacking when a person haslimited knowledge.Some consumers don’t knowthey can access their fileA number of consumers said that they discoveredthey were able to access their file after having alreadyattended a number of Board hearings.Did you understand you could see your casefile before the hearing?No, the only time I knew that I could see myfile was when I started working [at my currentemployer] and my boss told me I could make anapplication to see my file, which I did. And I saw ittwice for about 20 minutes and when I wanted tosee it again a year later they said I had to applyto see it again.DF - ConsumerClearly some consumers become aware of theirrights by chance. Rather than empowering people intheir appearances before the Board, the process canactually present obstacles which hinder the receptionof information.Some consumers’ lawyers arelimited in their access to their fileAs well as having difficulty accessing informationabout their own treatment, a number of consumersreported problems that their legal representative hadgaining access to their case plan file.What about being able to see the file andthings like that?The file was not there, [my solicitor] tried to look.[My previous lawyer] was only given a couple ofminutes to have a look when he requested to gothrough it. They treated [my solicitor] with morerespect than they did [my previous lawyer]. I wasat no stage able to see the file, when I asked tosee it [my] doctor came out and said to me no youcannot see the file. This was the second hearing.GF - ConsumerSome consumers are notgranted enough time to lookthrough their fileThe most frequently cited complaint about thesystem of review was that consumers were givenan inadequate period of time to see their file or thereport provided to the Board.Did you receive the doctor’s report to readbefore the hearing?Once.Did anyone go through that report with you?No, they just handed it to me, said this is yoursto have.43