Appointment of Board of Visitors
(1) The Minister shall appoint a Board of Visitors for each psychiatric hospital and psychiatric nursing home and shall nominate a Chairman in respect of each Board of Visitors. (2) Subject to subsections 40(3) and 40(4), a Board of Visitors shall consist of not less than three members to be appointed by the Minister.
Terms and conditions of appointment
(1) A member of a Board shall, unless he sooner resigns, hold office for a period not exceeding three years and shall be eligible for reappointment. (2) The Minister may in the instrument of appointment of a person as a Visitor specify the terms and conditions of appointment. (3) A person shall not be appointed a Visitor if he has— (a) any pecuniary interest, whether directly or indirectly; or (b) any other interest which conflicts or may conflict with the best interest of the patient, in the psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home.
Board to arrange roster for Visitors
(1) Subject to subsection (3) or (4), as the case may be, the Board, or if the Board so directs the Chairman, shall arrange a roster appointing three members of the Board to act in rotation for each month in the year; and references in this Act to “Visitors” shall be construed as references to Visitors appointed under this section to be the Visitors for the current month. (2) Subject to this section, where a member appointed for any month is unable to act for that month or any part thereof, the Chairman shall appoint another member in his place. (3) The Visitors for a psychiatric hospital shall at all times consist of a medical officer or a registered medical practitioner, preferably a psychiatrist, who does not work in that hospital and two other persons, and one of such Visitors shall be a female person. (4) The Visitors for a psychiatric nursing home shall at all times consist of a medical officer or a registered medical practitioner, preferably a psychiatrist, and a government staff nurse or registered staff nurse who does not work in that nursing home or have patients in that nursing home and one other person, and one of such Visitors shall be a female person. (5) Except where the decision of the Visitors to recommend the discharge of a person confined under section 344 or 348 of the Criminal Procedure Code or corresponding provisions of any other written law must be unanimous, the decision of the Visitors on any other matter before them may be unanimous or by a majority consisting of the concurring opinions of two Visitors.
Meetings of the Board
(1) The Board of a psychiatric hospital shall meet at least once a month and at such times as may be necessary or expedient for the carrying out of its functions. (2) The Board of a psychiatric nursing home shall meet at least once in every three months and at such times as may be necessary or expedient for the carrying out of its functions.
Duty to visit psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home
(1) The Visitors for a psychiatric hospital shall visit the psychiatric hospital at least once in every month and the Visitors for a psychiatric nursing home shall visit the psychiatric nursing home at least once in every three months to inquire into— (a) the welfare and health of persons detained in the psychiatric hospital or the welfare and health of persons admitted into the psychiatric nursing home, as the case may be; (b) the adequacy of opportunities and facilities for the persons detained in the psychiatric hospital or admitted in the psychiatric nursing home to observe their religions; and (c) any other matter that the Visitors consider necessary or expedient. (2) When visiting a psychiatric hospital or a psychiatric nursing home the Visitors may— (a) inspect any part of the premises of the psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home; and (b) inspect any register, book, order, certificate or other documents relating to the admission and discharge of persons detained or admitted into the psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home.
Report of Visitors
The Visitors shall, as soon as practicable, after each visit to a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home— (a) enter any remark that they deem proper with regard to the physical well-being and welfare of the persons detained or admitted into the psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home in a book to be kept at the hospital or nursing home for that purpose; and (b) if they deem necessary, submit to the Director General a report of each visit.
Examination of involuntary patient by Visitors
(1) Where a patient has been detained for treatment pursuant to an order made in accordance with subsection 9(5), 10(8) or 14(7) or section 73, he shall, before the expiration of the period of three months referred to in the subsection or section, be brought before the Visitors who shall examine the patient and make inquiries relating to the admission and detention of the patient. (2) Where upon the examination and inquiry under subsection (1) the Visitors— (a) are not satisfied that the continued detention of the patient is justified, the Visitors shall order that the involuntary patient be discharged; or (b) are satisfied that the continued detention of the person is justified, the Visitors shall make an order in the prescribed form signed by them for the detention of the person in the psychiatric hospital for a period not exceeding six months from the date of the order or such shorter period as the Minister may specify.
Review of involuntary patient by Visitors
(1) Where the Visitors have made an order under paragraph 44(2)(b) and the patient to whom the order relates is, before the expiration of the period specified in the order, still being detained in the psychiatric hospital, the Medical Director of the psychiatric hospital shall as soon as may be cause the patient to be brought before the visitors. (2) Where the patient is brought before the Visitors under subsection (1), the Visitors may, upon considering the report of the Medical Director and by a personal examination of the patient, direct that— (a) the patient be discharged; (b) the patient be discharged at a future date as specified in the direction; or (c) the patient be detained for care and treatment for a further period not exceeding twelve months as may be specified in the direction. (3) Where the Visitors have made a direction under paragraph (2)(c), the patient to whom the order relates, if he is not sooner discharged, shall— (a) notwithstanding section 20, be examined by the Medical Director at least once in four weeks; and (b) be reviewed by the Visitors at least once, before the end of the period of his detention in the psychiatric hospital to determine whether or not the continued detention of the patient is necessary. (4) At each review of a patient by the Visitors under paragraph (3)(b), the Visitors may, upon considering the report of the Medical Director and by a personal examination of the patient, direct that— (a) the patient be discharged; (b) the patient be discharged at a future date as specified in the direction; or (c) the patient be detained for care and treatment for a further period not exceeding twelve months as may be specified in the direction. (5) The review under subsection (4) shall continue for as long as the patient is detained in the psychiatric hospital and the provisions of subsection (3) shall continue to apply with every detention of the patient for a further period not exceeding twelve months.
Confidentiality of information by Visitor
(1) Except for any of the purposes of this Act or for the purpose of any civil or criminal proceedings under this Act, no Visitor shall disclose any information which has been obtained by him in the course of his duties under this Act. (2) A Visitor who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.
Allowances, etc., for Board members
(1) There shall be paid to each member of the Board for every attendance at meetings of the Board and for every visit to the psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home undertaken in the discharge of his duties under this Act such reasonable travelling expenses, lodging and subsistence allowances as the Minister may from time to time specify. (2) The payment referred to in subsection (1) shall be made by the Government in the case of a government psychiatric hospital or a government psychiatric nursing home, and by the licensee in the case of a private psychiatric hospital, gazetted private psychiatric hospital, private psychiatric nursing home or gazetted private psychiatric nursing home.
Provisions on this page are reproduced verbatim from official open data. See the attribution line.
Text as at 1 January 2006 (LOM reprint); amendments made after that date may not be incorporated. Read the official text ↗
Source: Laws of Malaysia, Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia (lom.agc.gov.my). Not a copy of the Gazette printed by the Government Printer (Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967, s 61).