The Ministry of Health has submitted a draft amendment to the Law on Mental Health Protection for consultation. The amendments are tidying up, bringing the provisions in line with current medical knowledge and modern language standards, as well as enhancing the safety of patients and medical personnel in situations of direct coercion.
Mental health law amendment: less stigmatization and clarification of procedures
Published Oct. 7, 2025 12:07
The draft amendment to the August 19, 1994 Law on Mental Health Protection provides for a number of changes aimed at modernizing the law and removing archaic, stigmatizing terms from it. Among other things, the definition of "mentally ill person" or "mentally retarded" will be changed - the new wording is to refer to "person with psychotic disorders" and "person with intellectual disabilities," respectively.
The amendment also clarifies procedural issues, including the rules for admitting people with mental disorders to psychiatric hospitals - both with and without consent - and how court hearings in such cases are to be conducted. The new regulations explicitly state that hearings are, as a rule, to be held in a psychiatric hospital, and its representatives will be a party to the proceedings.
One of the key areas of change is the rules for applying direct coercion to patients. The draft clarifies, among other things, the procedure for prolonging immobilization or isolation - each time this is to take place after a doctor has personally examined the patient and consulted a second doctor. This does not have to be a psychiatrist, which is expected to improve the operation of hospitals, where a specialist in this field is not always available.
The new regulations also provide for the retrofitting of observation rooms with monitoring systems, as well as the regulation of patient searches. A distinction has been made between personal and cursory inspections, which is expected to increase the safety of both patients and staff.
Regulations on documentation will also change - it will be possible to make full use of electronic forms when recording cases of direct coercion.
The bill also calls for extending the reporting period for the implementation of the National Mental Health Program from two to three years to provide a more meaningful assessment of the effectiveness of mental health measures.
Project: TU
Source: OJ MZ
