There were made for blitz presentation (7 min) at the south zone psychiatric conference, India.

1. Doctor, Patient is aggressive at
home. What to do?
Making Most of MHCA(2017), Practitioner’s Perspective
Ramkumar G S MD
Dept. of Psychiatry
Government Medical College, Kollam, Kerala

2. “Providing outreach”
Section 100 (duties of police)
Section 94 (emergency treatment)
Section 89 (supported admission)

3. Section 100 (duties of police)
• Duty: To take under protection
• Whom: wandering, risk to self or others
• Duration: 24hrs
• Action : take to nearest public health establishment
• Forms :

4. Section 89 (supported admission)
• Whom: Admit a ‘person [who] is ineligible to receive care and
treatment as an independent patient’.
• Who: Patient independently examined on the day of admission or in the
preceding seven days by one psychiatrist and the other being a mental health
professional.
• Duration: 30 days.

5. Section 94 (emergency treatment)
• Where: Can be provided in the community.
• By Whom: By medical practitioner.
• When : To prevent death, harm, serious damage to property.
• Duration : 72 hours
• ‘Explanation’: It includes transportation of the person with mental illness to
a nearest mental health establishment for assessment.
• Forms

6. Summary – So what can we do when we are
told that a patient is aggressive at home.
• The legal framework offered by the three sections of mhca and the
procedural forms gives ample opportunity for the practitioner to facilitate
admission by
• using help of police more emphatically by issuing the forms.
• Providing outreach - assessment in the community with the help of police.
• Emergency treatment provisions through a general medical practitioner in the periphery or
through ‘outreach mobile medical team’.
Acknowledgement: Inmind, Trissur who created the forms from the template provided in the Act.