B.C. issues new guidance to doctors for involuntary care under Mental Health Act

New guidance is being issued to B.C. clinicians on when people with mental impairment resulting from substance-use disorders can be forced into care.The direction by Daniel Vigo, B.C.’s chief scientific adviser for psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorders, aims to clarify when a person can be involuntarily treated under the Mental Health Act. Previously, the legislation was largely left to interpretation by individual doctors and hospitals, which resulted in inconsistent application. Nothing in the legislation, however, has changed.