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The new update report is now available
A new BC Ombudsperson report finds that too often key legal safeguards for involuntary patients under BC’s Mental Health Act are still not being applied across the province, despite improvement since the office’s 2019 Committed to Change investigation.
Audit results show key safeguards are still missed
The report draws on the Ministry of Health and health authorities’ quarterly audit results for July to September 2024, which show that required documentation was missing in a significant number of patient files, including forms outlining the reasons for admission, documenting treatment decisions and consent, and confirming that patients have been informed of their rights.
While steady progress is being made to protect the legal rights of people involuntarily admitted – audit results show higher form completion rates in 2024, compared to 2020 and 2017 – health care staff continue to admit patients against their will without completing the required paperwork.
“Involuntary admission under the Mental Health Act is an extraordinary power,” said BC Ombudsperson Jay Chalke. “I recognize the health care system is under strain. However, the required safeguards are not simply administrative paperwork. They are the legal protections that help ensure decisions to admit and treat someone are lawful, accountable, and rights-respecting. They must be completed 100 per cent of the time, in each and every case.”
Form 5 remains a key concern
The report highlights continued concerns with completion rates of Form 5, which documents a proposed course of psychiatric treatment and requires a physician to assess a patient’s capacity to consent.
The Ombudsperson emphasizes that this safeguard has become even more important following the passage of Bill 32, which repealed the Mental Health Act’s “deemed consent” provision in December 2025.
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Source: The Office of the Ombudsperson British Columbia, Canada
