Health Minister Chris Fearne told The Malta Independent yesterday that, according to information he has, a psychiatrist had indeed initiated the procedure for the involuntary admission of Mario Portelli to Mount Carmel Hospital.
Mario Portelli, a former policeman who was the star witness in the HSBC heist court case, recently filmed himself being taken by several police officers sparking controversy. In the video clip, which went viral on social media, Portelli claimed he was being taken to Mount Carmel Hospital as he wanted to confront Prime Minister Joseph Muscat at a political rally on Sunday morning. Portelli had also recently asserted that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat owns Egrant, and this after a magisterial inquiry found no evidence of this.
During the HSBC heist court sentence, the court slammed the testimony of Mario Portelli, who had made the allegations against former Police Inspector and lawyer David Gatt saying that he played a role in the robbery. The court said that Portelli's testimony was entirely unbelievable, and contradicted material facts. The court had also noted that Portelli's medical file "doesn't speak well of his mental health," news reports from the trial read.
In the recent video clip which Portelli posted on social media, he said that a number of policemen came to take him away to a mental institution "They are saying I am mad. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat sent the police to take him to Mt Carmel Hospital so that he would not to expose him on Sunday. The police are here. There are no doctors here."
After this situation was aired live on Facebook, the Alliance for Mental Health issued a statement, saying they wrote to the CEO of Mount Carmel Hospital, the Commissioner for Mental Health and the Police Board asking them to investigate the way in which the former policeman was taken to hospital.
"The A4MH refers to the recent distressing images in local media, without wishing to comment on the specific case, of which it does not know the details. The A4MH, which is constituted by representatives of the professionals and the service users of the mental health services, is highly aware of the distress that involuntary admission to a psychiatric hospital can cause, primarily to the person concerned and their families, and also to the professionals that are involved in the case. The A4MH recognises that there are situations where involuntary hospitalisation is unavoidable. However, there are stringent requirements laid down by law through the Mental Health Act that govern the procedures for such admission."
The alliance then went on to list the requirements for such a procedure which are needed.
This newsroom yesterday asked Health Minister Chris Fearne about the situation.
"There are two possible procedures by which a patient can go to Mt Carmel Hospital. The first is voluntarily, by the patient deciding that they need care themselves, or involuntarily – when a patient was not the one to decide that they need to go to Mt Carmel Hospital. When there is an involuntary admission, it would always be instigated and started by a psychiatrist, as happened in this case. I am informed that the Commissioner for Mental Health, like every other case of involuntary admission, is investigating the case and I asked him to pass on the complete report to me once it is done."
Asked whether this means he is confirming that the involuntary admission was based on the report of a psychiatrist he again stressed that all cases regarding involuntary admission are done on medical orders. "Obviously there are forensic cases where the court decides but medical cases would all have started on the order of a doctor, generally a psychiatrist. I am informed that in this case this is what happened, however the Commissioner for Mental Health is investigating and I await his report.
Asked whether when a person is involuntarily taken to the psychiatric hospital medical personnel have to be on site, he said that generally what happens is that the doctor makes the request and starts the process. "Then either the relatives and sometimes the police if needed, assist the person to be admitted to Mt Carmel Hospital."
from The Malta Independent https://ift.tt/2IGKkRV
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