Olivia* still has questions about the mandatory mental health treatment she received at a Melbourne hospital.
Last year, he was admitted to Northern Hospital after a relapse of an eating disorder. Olivia, in her 40s, alleges that she received forced mental health treatment after being told the hospital did not treat eating disorders.
“When someone is in a crisis, medically unstable and their life is in danger, you don’t get to choose which hospital to go to,” he said.
“I needed life-sustaining treatment at the time and when they say ‘why did you come here? We don’t treat eating disorders here,’ it’s hard to listen when you’re in the middle of a crisis.”
“I was so worried that the treatment I was receiving was failing, missing the risks that I knew existed and things that needed to be done to mitigate the risks related to eating disorders and refeeding that they were missing.”
Olivia’s experience led her to file a written complaint with the state mental health regulator.
Guardian Australia revealed this week that Victoria’s mental health complaints commissioner has no enforcement action taken against a single mental health care provider since it was established in 2014. This is despite the fact that a royal commission into the state’s mental health sector last year found systemic violations of the 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 increases in complaints between 2017-18 and 2019-20 were Mercy Health (78%), South West Health (72%), St Vincent’s (44%) and Ballarat Health (43%).
The forensic mental health provider, Forensicare, was excluded from the analysis because the length of stay is much longer than non-forensic admissions and because there are no other forensic mental health providers with which to compare it.
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Mercy Health said all patients were encouraged to provide input. Grampians Health, which incorporates Ballarat Health, said the feedback “gives us an opportunity to work better with our customers and improve our service.” St Vincent’s also said patients and their families were encouraged to share their feedback.
South West Health has been 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 complaints process had “taken its toll.”
“I reiterate to the people you know, to myself is that you have no power in that situation,” he said.
“You have no autonomy or authority and everything you say and do will not be believed. If you are harmed through this process, no one is going to believe you.”
Melbourne Health, which covers the northern hospital where she was treated, said it could not give a response to Olivia’s allegations as the complaint was still under investigation.
“Royal Melbourne Hospital NorthWestern Mental Health works in full cooperation with the MHCC to ensure due process,” a Melbourne Health spokesperson said.
The royal commission found that the mental health system was crisis-driven and is not designed to help people living with psychological distress or mental illness. He recommended the creation of an independent mental health and wellness commission to monitor reform and support people living with mental health problems and their families to help improve the system.
Guardian Australia understands that the government will introduce legislation for the new commission, which will absorb the MHCC, in the coming weeks, in line with the royal commission’s recommendation.
The new commission, which will be made up of people with lived experiences of mental illness, will have enhanced powers to investigate complaints.
The MHCC said it made 80 recommendations to services following complaints from consumers or their families and carers in 2020-21.
“Everyone has the right to make a complaint to Victoria’s public mental health system, either directly to the service or to the MHCC, and we know that while it can be challenging to speak up, complaints are an essential part of building of a better system that is driven by people with lived experience,” a spokesperson said.
*Not his real name
