Widening the circle: making Mental Health Review Tribunal hearings accessible in Indigenous, rural and remote settings.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this paper is to overview the history, structure and activities of the Queensland Mental Health Review Tribunal in relation to Indigenous patients.


RESULTS
The Mental Health Review Tribunal is an independent statutory body established under the Mental Health Act 2000 (MHA2000) to safeguard the rights of patients receiving involuntary treatment under the Queensland MHA2000. In the period from when the Tribunal commenced in 2002 to end of June 2008, people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background represent 2.3% of all patient registrations with the Tribunal. The Tribunal has established a range of strategies to encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients to attend and participate in their hearing. This includes widening the Tribunal's body of knowledge, strategies to inform patients about the Tribunal, culturally sensitive hearing practices, and widening the circle of participation in the hearing.


CONCLUSIONS
The future direction for the Tribunal in this strategy will be influenced by more formal evaluation of the outcomes and by further development of a model for the provision of cultural advice.
Fisher
Shelley
S
Mental Health Review Tribunal, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Kilcullen
Deborah
D
Schrieber
Gwen
G
Hughes
Brian
B
D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000266:history / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003469:Culture; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006303:Health Services, Indigenous / Q000266:history / Q000458:organization & administration*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007883:Legislation, Medical; D011793:Queensland