Fortis Hospital Book Appointment phone number

Fortis Hospital. There he was assigned to a psychiatric ward, but he refused to accept treatment and was arrested and charged with armed robbery. The court later found him not guilty by reason of insanity and ordered him to a hospital. Once again he refused treatment and a charge of contempt of court was lodged against him. When the judge ordered the police to take the patient into custody, he ran into the courtroom shouting, "I am free. I am free. I am free." He then attempted to walk out of the building and police arrested him for criminal trespass.

Fortis Hospital Book Appointment phone number

The judge in those cases was not impressed. His ruling in the first trial was reported:

"I take into consideration that, under section 10 of the Criminal Procedure Code, you [patient] were acquitted by reason of insanity, and that it is the public policy of the State to protect the mentally ill from a self-destructive, or criminal, attitude; but I think you should be confined for the purpose of treatment rather than for the protection of the public. You are in need of help, and a court will take care of you."

There was no provision for this kind of treatment. In his second trial the judge sentenced the patient to a one-year term.

This time the law was changed to conform to the new practice. Section 1(2) of the Mental Health Act 1980 provides that a person may be hospitalized against his will if it appears to the treating psychiatrist that he is mentally ill and is likely to harm himself or other persons if allowed to remain at liberty.

Fortis Hospital Booking Appointment Number

The problem of hospitalizing individuals against their will is of great magnitude. It is estimated that as many as one person in every four in Canada is mentally ill and, according to a Canadian Bureau of Statistics study, mental illness is costing the country an estimated $2.8 billion a year. The cost of caring for people with serious mental illnesses exceeds the national expenditure on mental health.

But who is responsible for mentally ill individuals in this country? The government claims responsibility for the welfare of mentally ill persons. Yet, when they cannot act in their own best interests, the taxpayers must pay. It is estimated that government budgets, provincial and federal, will rise to as much as $5.6 billion next year to meet the cost of caring for people with mental illness.

There is nothing arbitrary about the rise in the cost of caring for mentally ill people. Each person has the right to receive care for which he is eligible. The criteria of eligibility and priority have changed because of the increased cost of providing care.

Fortis Hospital Book Appointment number

A mentally ill person is not to be deprived of his right to treatment. However, if treatment is refused by the person, the state is not allowed to make payment. To deprive someone of his liberty because he is mentally ill is an unacceptable violation of human rights. It must be emphasized that individuals are not in fact "freed" by being sent to a hospital against their will