What Form 12 is for
When an involuntary patient asks for a second medical opinion on Form 11, the physician who examines them reports on Form 12. Section 31 of BC’s Mental Health Act limits the question to the appropriateness of the treatment the director has authorized. Once the report arrives, the director must consider whether to change the treatment.
Who completes it
The physician giving the second opinion completes and signs the report. The director signs the office-use box to acknowledge receipt.
How to fill in the report
Addressee and examination
Name the designated facility whose director you are reporting to, the date you examined the patient, the patient’s name and the facility where they are a patient.
Your opinion
Give your opinion on whether the authorized treatment is appropriate and include any recommendations. Say what you reviewed, such as the chart, the current medications and the Form 5. Specific recommendations are easier for the director to act on than general remarks. Continue on the back if you need more space.
Your details
Sign, date and print your name, and add your address and phone number so the director can reach you with questions.
Common reasons it’s delayed
- An opinion on whether the patient should be detained, which the form doesn’t ask for.
- No recommendations, or recommendations too general to act on.
- Missing contact details for the reporting physician.
- The examination date left blank.
Submitting and who pays
Send the report to the director of the designated facility named at the top, who signs to acknowledge receipt. Form 11 warns a patient who names their own physician that there may be a cost depending on how far that physician travels.