You Can’t Go Outside: Involuntary Hospitalization and Access to the Outdoors in Health Care
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.19164/ijmhcl.v2019i25.938Abstract
This paper will explore the practice of withholding a person’s access to the outdoors while under involuntary hospitalization, or civil commitment, in the province of Ontario, Canada. Following a question from the author’s clinical practice, the paper asks: Are we denying mental health patients a right that is protected for prisoners?
An overview of the structure of the Canadian legal system and the role of international human rights law in local legislation is offered to situate lack of outdoor access under civil commitment in a broad legal context. The intention of legal and ethical positions described in human rights and mental health law will be considered in light of how these support or negate current practices in health care. Key issues of civil commitment will be defined. Law and policy governing outdoor access in other institutions such as prisons and detention centers will be outlined as a point of comparison.
The purpose of this paper is to serve as a guide to thinking through the issue of institutional confinement without access to the outdoors when a person’s independent freedom of movement is compromised, legally or otherwise. Should there be future interest in challenging this practice, this paper will be useful as a primer for how to approach legislation and institutional policy.
Key words: Canadian legal system; Mental Health Act (1990); Ontario; Deprivation of liberty; Ultra vires; Human rights; Psychiatric nursing; Hospital design; Outdoor spaces; Fresh air; Patient rights; Civil commitment
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
a. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
b. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
c. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work
