Last Change:
05/02/2025
Balochistan Mental Health Act, 2019
Year: 2019
Type: Domestic law
Rights Category: Health
Description
An Act to consolidate, alter and amend the law relating to the mentally disordered persons in Balochistan, with respect to their care, treatment and management of their property and other related matters. Whereas, it is expedient to consolidate, alter and amend the law relating to the treatment and care of mentally disordered persons in Balochistan, to make better provisions for their care, treatment, management of properties and affairs and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto and to encourage community care of such mentally disordered persons and further to provide for the promotion of mental health and prevention of mental disorder. And whereas in pursuance of the eighteenth amendment to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, the subject matter has been devolved to the provinces.
Selected provisions
(1) For the purposes of this Act, the Government shall constitute, by notification in the official Gazette, the Balochistan Mental Health Authority within a period of six months.
(2) The Authority shall consist of a Chairperson and not more than nine members to be appointed by the Government.
(3) The members of the Authority shall be as follows:
(a) Secretary to the Government, Health Department, who shall also be the chairperson of the authority;
(b) Senior Consultant Psychiatrist, Balochistan Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences;
(c) three eminent psychiatrists (at least one female) and two eminent clinical psychologists (one male and one female) of at least ten years’ standing;
(d) Director General, Health Service Balochistan, or his nominee not below the rank of a Director (B-19); and
(e) Executive Director, Balochistan Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, who shall also act as secretary for meetings of the Authority; and
(f) The Authority may co-opt the services of other ex-officio members as it may deem necessary.
(4) The non-official members of the Authority shall be appointed on such terms and conditions as may be notified by the Government through official gazette.
(5) The non-official members of the Authority shall be appointed for tenure of four years. The member may resign from his office in writing addressed to the Government.
(6) The non-official members of the Authority may be removed from his office by the [Government], for reasons of misconduct, or if he is unable to perform functions of his office, on account of mental or physical incapacity or for any other reason.
(7) The Authority established under sub-section (1) shall carry out the following functions:―
(a) advise the Government on all matters relating to promotion of mental health and prevention of mental disorder;
(b) develop and establish new national standards for care and treatment of patients;
(c) recommend measures to establish new and to improve the existing mental health services and setting up of child and adolescence, psychogeriatric, forensic, learning disability, substance misuse and community-based services;
(d) prescribe procedures with respect to setting up and functioning of the mental health services and facilities;
(e) prescribe a code of practice to be implemented for achieving the purposes and objects of this Act as well as to be followed by all the mental health personnel involved with the care of patients under this Act;
(f) provide for regular review by the Board of Inspection to ensure that the provisions of this Act for assessment and treatment are being properly carried out, whether or not requested by any individual, patient or his relative;
(g) prescribe for care, aftercare or rehabilitation, under supervision or otherwise;
(h) provide for and regulate the setting up of help lines and crisis centres for the general public with regard to mental health;
(i) provide for, organize and regulate public awareness programs and promote research, publish journals, bulletins, magazines, and other educational material on mental health issues;
(j) discharge such other functions with respect to matters relating to mental health as the Government may require;
(k) constitute committees consisting of such expertise of the field that may look into the matter referred by the Authority and advice/recommend its suggestions in relation to the functions of the authority, for promotion of mental health, care and prevention of mental disorder etc.;
(l) register psychiatrists for the purposes of this Act, in such manner as may be prescribed;
(m) arrange and organize such courses and training programs as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes and objects of this Act;
(n) arrange, organize and implement Balochistan Mental Health Policy and to include a separate chapter regarding mental health in the Baluchistan Health Policy, primary health care, programs etc.; and
(o) develop and establish new infrastructures, develop all level of Human Resource (including subspecialties) and conduct research in Balochistan.
(8) The Authority may, by notification in the official gazette, make regulations in respect of functions specified in subsection (7).
(9) (a) The Authority shall hold its meetings at least twice in a year and once in every six months.
(b) If the chairperson, for any reason, is unable to attend a meeting of the Authority, the senior-most official member or as decided by the present majority members shall preside over the meeting of the Authority.
(10) There shall be established an office of the Authority at Quetta, to provide secretarial support and for other matters necessary in performance of the functions of the Authority.
(11) The Secretary of the Authority shall be the administrative head of the office and perform such functions as may be prescribed or assigned to him by the Authority or Government under the Act.
(12) The necessary funds for the establishment of the office of the authority, with provision of staff and funds for necessary expenditure on establishment shall be provided in its yearly budget by the Government.
(1) The Government shall establish or maintain psychiatric facilities for the assessment, admission, treatment, rehabilitation, care and after care of mentally disordered patients at such places, as it deems fit.
(2) The psychiatric facilities established under subsection (1) may organize or maintain separate units for –
(a) persons who are above the age of eighteen years;
(b) child and adolescence psychiatric units;
(c) psychogeriatric units for the elderly; and
(d) persons who have been convicted of any offence and are mentally disordered for whom special security measures shall be required.
(3) Where drug dependence units need to be established, they shall be set up separately which may be within the premises of the psychiatric facility for people who are not mentally disordered but have drug dependence or patients with drug induced behavioral changes.
(4) The Incharge and team leader in psychiatric healthcare facility/setting shall be psychiatrist and all other technical, allied specialties and ancillary employees involved and working with psychiatric patient or client in psychiatric healthcare services shall response to the team leader.
Community based mental health services shall be setup for providing mentally disordered persons, their families and others involved in their care with guidance, education, rehabilitation, after care and preventive measures and other support services on an informal basis.
Explanation. ― For purposes of this section, community shall include, family, home, workplace, educational institutions and other places where care and after care can be provided on an informal or voluntary basis.
(1) When an arrangement has been made with any foreign state with respect to the placement of a patient, the Federal Government may issue a notification under this Act directing the Government for such placement of the patient.
(2) On publication of a notification under subsection (1), the agent of the foreign state in which the alleged mentally disordered person ordinarily resides may make an application for an order to the Government.
(3) The functions of the Magistrate shall be performed by such officer as the Government may by general or special order appoint in this behalf, and such officer shall be deemed to be the Magistrate having jurisdiction over the alleged mentally disordered person for the purposes of this section.
(4) The Government may specify approved psychiatrists for the purposes of this section.