The Compulsory Mental Health Care Act (Wvggz) was introduced on January 1, 2020. Together with the Wzd (Care and Coercion Act), this law replaces the Special Admission to Psychiatric Hospitals Act (Bopz) and therefore increases the burden on the municipality. The range of tasks within the Social Domain is expanded with this law. In the event of a report about a confused person, the municipality must investigate this report within two weeks. If it turns out that the report is correct, the municipality must determine whether a petition for healthcare authorization will be submitted to the Public Prosecutor.
Reason for the Wvggz
In our changing society, in addition to self-reliance, there is increasing emphasis on prevention and therefore structural support for vulnerable fellow citizens. After all, self-reliance is not a given for every citizen and when support is needed, it is better to start as early as possible. In most cases, prevention is cheaper than solving the problems that have arisen afterwards. The Wvggz (Compulsory Mental Health Care Act) was devised to prevent this target group from getting into such problems that they cause nuisance. This is an extension of the WMO (Social Support Act). The WMO gives the municipality the task of providing social support with the aim of promoting the self-reliance and participation of citizens with psychological or psychosocial problems.
Difference between Bopz and Wvggz
On January 1, 2020, the Bopz Act (Special admissions to psychiatric hospitals) was replaced by the Wvggz (Compulsory Mental Health Care Act) and the Wzd (Care and Coercion Act) (Youth and Health Inspectorate, 2018). The emphasis in the Wvggz is not on mandatory admission, but on making care mandatory. The municipality thus became the implementer of this law. This means that a citizen reports to the municipality that he thinks that someone needs compulsory care. The municipality must investigate this report within 14 days and determine whether the report is justified.
Healthcare authorization
If it is subsequently determined that compulsory care is necessary, a request for care authorization will be submitted to the Public Prosecutor. So the judge ultimately decides. This law is being introduced to prevent more serious psychological problems.
Principles of Wvggz
By introducing this law, the municipality takes care of confused people. This is a new task with the following objectives:
- Increasing people’s social autonomy
- Increasing people’s self-reliance
- Teaching people preventively to avoid certain issues and problems or to deal with them adequately
- Signaling that certain target groups are in trouble.
Collaboration necessary
The implementation of this law takes an eclectic approach in which multiple tracks are applied simultaneously and multiple care techniques and multidisciplinary teams can be used. This requires a comprehensive approach with good cooperation and clear direction.
For which target group is this law intended?
The Ministries of Health, Welfare and Sport (Public Health, Welfare and Sport) and V&J (Security & Justice) and VNG (Association of Dutch Municipalities) want better shelter, care and support for people who exhibit confused behavior. The social environment of the citizen is also heard, in contrast to what happened with the Bopz law. The possibility of mandatory outpatient care allows the target group to continue to participate in society with professional help. This law is being introduced to improve the legal position of confused people and at the same time protect society against nuisance.
Care and Coercion Act
If the citizen does not want to cooperate and there is an intellectual disability and/or dementia, the Wzd (Care and Coercion Act) comes into effect. This law comes into effect at the same time as the Wvggz and specifically concerns involuntary care for the aforementioned target group. Just like its predecessor the Bopz, the Wzd offers the option of having people compulsorily admitted, once careful investigation has been carried out to determine whether there are really no other alternatives.