Olivia * still has questions about the mandatory mental health treatment she received at Melbourne Hospital.
She was admitted to Northern Hospital last year after returning from an eating disorder. Olivia, 40, states that she was on forced mental health treatment after she was told that the hospital does not treat eating disorders.
“When someone is in crisis, medically unstable and their life is in danger, you have no choice which hospital to go to,” she said.
“I needed treatment to keep me alive at the time and to face ‘why did you come here - we don’t treat eating disorders here’, it’s hard to hear when you’re in the middle of a crisis.
“I was so worried that the treatment I was receiving was unsuccessful, missing out on the risks I knew existed and the things that needed to be done to reduce those risks of eating disorders and overeating that were missed.
Olivia’s experience led her to file a written complaint with the state mental health regulator.
The Guardian Australia revealed this week that Victoria’s Commissioner for Mental Health Complaints has not taken legal action against any mental health provider since it was set up in 2014. This is despite the Royal Commission’s state mental health commission finding systemic violations last year. law and human rights throughout the system.
The Guardian analyzed complaints from service providers, obtained under freedom of information laws, which included direct complaints to the health service and the MHCC. The services with the largest increase in complaints between 2017-18 and 2019-20 were Merci Health (by 78%), South West Health (72%), St Vincent’s (44%) and Ballarat Health (43%).
A forensic forensic scientist is excluded from the analysis because the length of stay is much longer than non-forensic confessions and because there are no other forensic mental health providers to compare it to.
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Merci Health said that all patients were encouraged to give feedback. Grampians Health - which includes Ballarat Health - said the feedback “gives us the opportunity to work better with our clients and improve our service”. St Vincent’s also said that patients and their families were encouraged to share feedback.
South West Health was contacted for comment.
After Olivia complained to the regulator, the MHCC said in its response that the doctor’s notes did not match her testimony.
Olivia, who is awaiting a written response from Northern Health to her complaints, said the grievance process had “taken its toll”.
“I repeat to individuals you know, to yourself that you have no power in that situation,” she said.
“You do not have autonomy and authority, and everything you say and do will be unbelievable. If you are harmed through this process, no one will believe you. ”
Melbourne Health - which includes the Northern Hospital where she was treated - said that she could not provide an answer to Olivia’s allegations because the complaint remained under investigation.
“The Royal Hospital of Melbourne Northwestern Mental Health is working in full collaboration with the MHCC to ensure an appropriate process,” a Melbourne Health spokesman said.
The Royal Commission has determined that the mental health system is crisis-driven and is not designed to support people living with mental health problems or mental illness. He recommended the creation of an independent commission on mental health and well-being to monitor the reform and support people living with mental health problems and their families to help improve the system.
The Guardian Australia understands that the government will introduce laws for a new commission - which will absorb the MHCC - in the coming weeks, in accordance with the recommendation of the Royal Commission.
The new commission, which will consist of people with lived experiences of mental illness, will have enhanced powers to investigate complaints.
The MHCC said it had given 80 recommendations to services following complaints from consumers or their families and carers in 2020-21.
“Everyone has the right to complain to the Victorian public health system, whether directly to the service or the MHCC, and we know that while it can be challenging to speak, complaints are an essential part of building a better system led by people with experience,” he said. .
* Not her real name