Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5006 – Duties of hospital upon provisional admission
During the 48-hour period of provisional admission:
(1) The hospital shall try to evaluate the involuntary patient to assess the person’s psychological and physical needs, and may provide treatment to the involuntary patient as clinically appropriate and consistent with the State‘s Mental Health Patients’ Bill of Rights pending the involuntary patient’s probable cause hearing;
(2) A psychiatrist designated by the Secretary of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families may, at any time prior to the commencement of judicial proceedings to determine the mental condition of a minor or an individual over the age of 18 who is receiving financial assistance or is in the custody of the Department, conduct an independent review of a determination that such a person is a person with a mental condition. If the psychiatrist determines that such person is not a person with a mental condition, the Department may withhold financial assistance for the diagnosis, care or treatment of such person;
(3) The hospital shall document in the patient’s medical record whether or not the involuntary patient can afford counsel and an independent psychiatrist or other licensed mental health professional to serve as an expert witness on the individual’s behalf.
60 Del. Laws, c. 95, § ?1; 66 Del. Laws, c. 424, §§ ?3, 4; 68 Del. Laws, c. 310, § ?1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § ?1; 78 Del. Laws, c. 179, §§ ?177, 178; 79 Del. Laws, c. 442, § ?1;
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5006
- Department: means the State of Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5001
- Hospital: means the Delaware Psychiatric Center and any hospital in this State which is certified by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services as being an appropriate facility for the diagnosis, care and treatment of persons with mental conditions 18 years of age or older. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5001
- Involuntary patient: means a person admitted pursuant to emergency detention, provisional admission, a complaint for involuntary civil commitment, a probable cause hearing or an involuntary inpatient commitment hearing to the custody of a designated psychiatric treatment facility or hospital for observation, diagnosis, care and treatment. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5001
- Mental condition: means a current, substantial disturbance of thought, mood, perception or orientation which significantly impairs judgment, capacity to control behavior, or capacity to recognize reality. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5001
- Person with a mental condition: includes every person with an emotional or psychiatric disorder or disability. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
- Psychiatrist: means an individual who possesses a valid State of Delaware license to practice medicine and has completed an accredited residency training program in psychiatry. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5001
- Secretary: means the Secretary of the State of Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5001
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302