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Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Missing in action: the right to the highest attainable standard of mental health care
International Journal of Mental Health Systems, Vol.16(26), pp.1-7
2022
PMCID: PMC9187849
PMID: 35690833
Abstract
Background:
The right to the highest attainable standard of mental health remains a distant goal worldwide. The Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right of all people to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health pleaded the urgent need for governments to act through appropriate laws and policies. We argue that Australia is in breach of international obligations, with inadequate access to mental health services, inconsistent mental health legislation across jurisdictions and ongoing structural (systematic) and individual discrimination.
Discussion:
Inadequate access to mental health services is a worldwide phenomenon. Australia has committed to international law obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) to ‘promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disability, with respect to their inherent dignity’. This includes people with mental health impairment and this convention includes the right to ‘the highest attainable standard of mental health’. Under the Australian Constitution, ratification of this convention enables the national government to pass laws to implement the convention obligations, and such national laws would prevail over any inconsistent state (or territory) laws governing mental health service provision.
Summary:
The authors argue that enabling positive rights through legislation and legally binding mental health service standards may facilitate enhanced accountability and enforcement of such rights. These steps may support critical key stakeholders to improve the standards of mental health service provision supported by the implementation of international obligations, thereby accelerating mental health system reform. Improved legislation would encourage better governance and the evolution of better services, making mental health care more accessible, without structural or individual discrimination, enabling all people to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health.
Details
- Title
- Missing in action: the right to the highest attainable standard of mental health care
- Authors
- Yun Ju C Song (Corresponding Author) - The University of SydneySebastian Rosenberg (Author) - Mental Wealth Initiative, University of Sydney, Camperdown, AustraliaBelinda Smith (Author) - The University of SydneyJo-An Occhipinti (Author) - The University of SydneyJohn Mendoza (Author) - University of the Sunshine CoastLouise Freebairn (Author) - The University of SydneyAdam Skinner (Author) - The University of SydneyIan B Hickie (Author) - The University of Sydney
- Publication details
- International Journal of Mental Health Systems, Vol.16(26), pp.1-7
- Publisher
- BioMed Central Ltd.
- Date published
- 2022
- DOI
- 10.1186/s13033-022-00537-8
- ISSN
- 1752-4458
- PMID
- 35690833; PMC9187849
- Copyright note
- © The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.
- Grant note
- This work was partially supported by grants from the National Health & Medical Research Council Fellowship 511921 (IBH) and the Mental Wealth Initiative funded by the University of Sydney. This work was also supported by philanthropic funding, for which donor(s) are families affected by mental illness who wish to remain anonymous.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Health and Sport Sciences - Legacy
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99649177402621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Psychiatry
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