The Mental Healthcare Act 2017 aims to decriminalize suicide, empower persons with mental illness, and fulfill India's obligations under the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It recognizes the autonomy of people with mental illness and aims to protect their rights. Key aspects include advancing community-based mental healthcare, restricting the use of ECT, outlining the roles of various authorities and oversight boards, and regulating admission, treatment and discharge processes to safeguard patient rights and dignity. The Act replaces the Mental Health Act of 1987 and contains expanded provisions to promote inclusion, non-discrimination, and delivery of equitable mental health services across India.

1. Mental health care Act
2017
Prepared by:-
Shraddha Gajjar
Assistant Professor
Psychiatric Nursing

2. INTRODUCTION
• India has more than 70 million mental health patient.
• Less than 4000 psychiatrist are there and they are
concentrated in cities.
• There are 9.5-102 persons affected in 1000 of population.
• About 800,000 people commit suicide worldwide every year,
of these 135,000 (17%) are residents of India, a nation with
17.5% of world population.
So there is a need for looking towards mental health.

3. Introduction
• In India, the Mental Health Care Act 2017 was passed on 7 April
2017 and came into force from 7 July 2018.
• The act effectively decriminalized attempted suicide which was
punishable under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code.
• it enacted by Parliament in the Sixty-eighth Year of the Republic of
India
• This Act superseded the previously existing Mental Health Act,
1987 that was passed on 22 May 1987.

4. • The Indian mental health act is derived from
mental health Act of England and Wales (
1959 amended in 1882).
• The mental health bill became the Act 14 of
1987 on 22nd may 1987.

5. Revisions made from the Mental Health Act 1987
1. The Mental Healthcare Act 2017 aims at decriminalising the
Attempt to Commit Suicide by seeking to ensure that the
individuals who have attempted suicide are offered
opportunities for rehabilitation from the government as
opposed to being tried or punished for the attempt.
2. The Act seeks to fulfill India's international obligation pursuant
to the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its
Optional Protocol.
• It looks to empower persons suffering from mental illness, thus
marking a departure from the Mental Health Act 1987. The
2017 Act recognises the agency of people with mental illness,
allowing them to make decisions regarding their health, given
that they have the appropriate knowledge to do so.

6. 4. The Act aims to safeguard the rights of the people with
mental illness, along with access to healthcare and treatment
without discrimination from the government. Additionally,
insurers are now bound to make provisions for medical
insurance for the treatment of mental illness on the same
basis as is available for the treatment of physical ailments.
5. The Mental Health Care Act 2017 includes provisions for the
registration of mental health related institutions and for the
regulation of the sector. These measures include the necessity
of setting up mental health establishments across the country
to ensure that no person with mental illness will have to
travel far for treatment, as well as the creation of a mental
health review board which will act as a regulatory body.

8. 6. The Act has restricted the usage
of Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) to be used
only in cases of emergency, and along
with muscle relaxants and anaesthesia. Further,
ECT has additionally been prohibited to be used
as viable therapy for minors.
7. The responsibilities of other agencies such as the
police with respect to people with mental illness
has been outlined in the 2017 Act.
8. The Mental Health Care Act 2017 has
additionally vouched to tackle stigma of mental
illness, and has outlined some measures on how
to achieve the same.

9. Aim
• An act to provide for mental healthcare and
services for persons with mental illness and
to protect, promote and fulfill the rights of
such persons during delivery of mental
healthcare and services and for matters
connected therewith or incidental there to.

10. OBJECTIVES
• To regulate admission in to psychiatric hospitals and
psychiatric nursing homes.
• To protect society from the presence of mentally ill persons
• To protect citizens from being a detained in psychiatric
hospital/ nursing homes without sufficient cause.
• To regulate maintenance charges of psychiatric hospitals /
nursing homes.

11. Conti....
• To provide facilities for establishing guardianship of mentally ill
person who are in capable of managing their own affairs.
• To establish central and state authorities for mental health
services.
• To regulate the powers of government for establishing of
licensing and controlling psychiatric hospitals / nursing homes.
• To provide legal aid to mentally ill persons at state expense in
certain cases.

12. The Indian mental health act 1987 : 10 chapters
and 98 section
mental health care act 2017 : 16 chapters

13. CHAPTERS
CHAPTER CONTENT
CHAPTER I Preliminary
CHAPTER II Mental illness and capacity to make mental healthcare and
treatment decisions
CHAPTER III Advance directive
CHAPTER IV Nominated representative
CHAPTER V Rights of persons with mental illness
CHAPTER VI Duties of appropriate government
CHAPTER VII Central mental health authority
CHAPTER VIII State mental health authority
CHAPTER IX Finance, accounts and audit

14. CHAPTERS
CHAPTER CONTENT
CHAPTER X Mental health establishments
CHAPTER XI Mental health review boards
CHAPTER XII Admission, treatment and discharge
CHAPTER XIII Responsibilities of other agencies
CHAPTER XIV Restriction to discharge functions by
professionals not covered by profession.
CHAPTER XV Offences and penalties
CHAPTER XVI Miscellaneous

15. It contains only basic definitions.
Special Features:
It defines clearly the mental illness.
It includes the POST GRADUATE AYUSH doctors as
mental health professional.
Chapter-I

16. • Advance directive - a written document made by a person
expressing their wishes
• Authority: central mental health authority
state mental health authority
• Board - mental health review board
• Care-giver - providing care to a person with mental
illness
• Minor - not completed eighteen years
• Prisoner with mental illness - a person with mental
illness under-trial or convicted of an offence and detained
in a jail or prison

17. CHAPTER-II
Mental illness and capacity to make mental healthcare
and treatment decisions without any discrimination.
• Mental illness shall be determined in accordance with such nationally
or internationally accepted medical standards
• No person or authority shall classify a person as a person with mental
illness, except for purposes directly relating to the treatment or in
other matters as covered under this Act
• Advance directive do not apply to emergency treatment.

18. CHAPTER-III
It deals with the Advance directives.
Advance directive - a written document made by a person expressing
their wishes
Features:
Every person except minor has right to take advance
directive by writing
It empowers the patient to choose his/her treatment and
appoint
a representative to take decision on behalf of patient.
If patient is minor, his/ her parent or care giver will act
as representative.

19. It will not be applicable At the time ofemergency.
It is the duty of every psychiatrist to plan
treatment, keeping advance directive in mind.
If any one from psychiatrist or care giver are
unsatisfied can approach to the concerned board.

20. CHAPTER-IV
Guidelines of choosing
Nominated Representative
• If not a minor- right to appoint a nominated representative
• nomination - made in writing on plain paper with the person’s
signature or thumb impression
• nominated- shall not be a minor, be competent to discharge the
duties or perform the functions, and give his consent in writing .
• Where no nominated representative is appointed- a relative, care-
giver, Director of the Department of Social Welfare, or his designated
representative

21. Nominated representative of minor - the legal guardian shall be their
nominated representative, unless the concerned Board orders otherwise
Duties of nominated representative.
• consider the wishes and the best interests
• provide support
• seek information on diagnosis and treatment
• access to the family or home based rehabilitation services
• involved in admission and discharge
• right to give or withhold consent for research
• appoint a suitable attendant

22. CHAPTER-V
It consists of Various Rights of mentally ill person.
• Right to community living and not be segregated from society
• Right to protection from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
• Right to live with dignity
• Protected from all forms of physical, verbal, emotional and sexual
abuse
• Right to equality and non- discrimination.
• A child under the age of three years of a woman receiving care at a
mental health establishment shall ordinarily not be separated from
her except in cases of harm. And it should be reviewed every 15 days
• Rights of confidentiality.
• Right to information.

23. • No photograph or any other information relating to
a person with mental illness undergoing treatment
at a mental health establishment shall be released
to the media without the consent of the person
with mental illness
• Right to access medical records.
• Right to personal contacts and communication
• Right to legal aid
• Right to make complaints about deficiencies in
provision of services.

24. CHAPTER- VI
It gives direction to the government to implement
the programme.
• integrate mental health services into general healthcare services
• Access to all
• mental health services shall be available in each district
• Persons below the poverty line are entitled to mental health
treatment and services free of any charge
• all medicines on the Essential Drug List shall be made available
free of cost to all persons with mental illness

25. Provisions –
• outpatient and inpatient,
• half-way homes, sheltered accommodation, supported
accommodation
• home based rehabilitation
• hospital and community based rehabilitation
establishments
• child and old age mental health services

26. CHAPTER-VII
Gives provisions of forming Central Mental health authority.
• Establishment of Central Authority.
CHAPTER-VIII
Gives provisions of forming State Mental health authority.
• Establishment of state authority.

27. CHAPTER IX
Finance, accounts and audit.
• Grants by Central Government to Central Authority and state
government to state authority
• Central and state Mental Health Authority Fund.
• Accounts and audit of Central and state Authority
• The accounts of the Authority shall be audited by the
Comptroller and Auditor-General of India at such intervals as
may be specified by him
• Annual report of Central and state Authority

28. CHAPTER X
Mental health establishments
 Every mental healthcare institution should be
registered .
 Establishment of new improvised institutions.

29. CHAPTER-XI
Constitution of Mental Health Review Boards.
Every state has to form a review board which is consist of:
A district judge as chair person ofboard.
two members of whom one shall be a psychiatrist and the
other shall be a medical practitioner.
two members who shall be persons with mental illness or
care- givers or persons representing organizations of persons
with mental illness

30. CHAPTER-XII
Admission, treatment and
discharge
Independent patient or an independent admission should be done as
far as possible.
Mentally ill person who requires treatment beyond thirty days should
be reviewed by two psychiatrist.
No restraint shall be used as a form of punishment. If used patient
should be kept on supervision.
Professionals conducting research should take sign in informed
consent of mentally ill person and consent from board.

31. CHAPTER-XIII
Duties of police officers in respect
to mentally ill person.
It is the duty of police to give protection to any mentally
ill person wandering outside in the area of police
station.
Arrangement of need of person.
CHAPTER-XIV
It restricts unauthorized duty and medication.

32. CHAPTER-XV
It deals with penalty and punishment.
 Unauthorized institutions will be punished
5000-50000 for 1st time, upto 2 lakhs for 2nd time.
 Any person who do the work against the Act, are liable to give upto
ten thousand rupees or six months of jail or both.
CHAPTER-XVI
MISCELLANEOUS
o Power of Central Government to issue directions.
o Special provisions for States in north-east and hill States

33. Thanks for listening…