Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/286290
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 MARCH 2014 9 News that prior to admission, a written agreement should be entered into between the home and the resident that clearly defines the responsibili- ties and obligations of the two par- ties. Presently, 60% of the homes have a formal written agreement signed between the home and the resident stating the rights and obligations of both the service provider and the resident. All homes, with very few excep- tions, provide the opportunity for their residents to receive relatives in private, to make private phone calls and to have lockable space. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Out with politically incorrect terms, says mental health commissioner on Malta's laws JAMES DEBONO 'FOOLS', 'old people', 'the af- flicted' and 'handicapped' – these are just some of the words contained in Article 339 of the Criminal Code that Commis- sioner for Mental Health and the Elderly John Cachia wants removed from Maltese law. In a report he made to the Jus- tice Reform Commission, tasked with a general overhaul of Mal- ta's justice system, Cachia also questions the concept of "insan- ity" which is deeply ingrained in the criminal courts' practice. Cachia said that the "disparag- ing" words in Article 339 date back to 1856, in a legal clause that specifies that anyone har- assing these categories of people can be found guilty of a contra- vention… alongside people who throw water or stones in other people's property. The Commissioner also ques- tions the concept of insanity, say- ing that psychiatric certificates should declare whether a person has a temporary or permanent "lack of mental capacity" – but not that a person is "insane". Cachia also called for the to- tal revision of Article 527 of the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure, which requires fami- lies to notify all notaries, banks and other institutions when a family member is subjected to incapacitation, interdiction and guardianship orders. The Commissioner is rec- ommending that these orders should be recorded in the public registry, removing the need to inform all notaries, banks and other institutions at consider- able additional and unnecessary expense to the person and his family. "A single electronic repository accessible to whoever should or needs to know is the appropriate way of registering such events today," Cachia said. This would also remove the need to publish incapacitation, interdiction and guardianship orders in the Government Gaz- zette. In his proposals, the Commis- sioner also refers to the need of new legislation to address the "grey area" occupied by old and frail persons who do not lack mental capacity to the extent of meriting guardianship, incapaci- tation or interdiction, but who are nonetheless unable to make appropriate decisions concern- ing self-care and independent living. In these situations the indi- vidual would benefit from long- term care through residential services even if this defies the person's wishes. One possibility foreseen by the Mental Health Commissioner would be to introduce a holis- tic "Mental Capacity Act" which deals with the whole spectrum of mental incapacity by giving dif- ferent levels of power of attorney and recognizes different levels of lack of mental capacity for old, frail persons or persons with al- tered levels of consciousness. Disparaging words like 'fools' and 'handicapped' should be removed from the Criminal Code John Cachia, Commissioner for Mental Health Ghadira Beach concession still impinges on cart ruts – Superintendence