Teleconferencing

The Board is required to provide appropriate access to involuntary patients' state-wide, as patients may be on a CTO anywhere in the State. For those patients in rural areas the Board utilises teleconferencing technology to conduct reviews. The Board provides information to participants in teleconference reviews about the process for those reviews. Teleconference reviews proceed in a manner consistent with other reviews that the Board conducts.

What is Teleconferencing?
Teleconferencing is simply a way for people who are separated by distance to communicate. Teleconferencing consists of an audiovisual link-up between two or mores sites. The teleconference link is usually between the Board's premises in Perth and your nearest mental health service.

Although many kilometres apart a teleconference review allows the patient to be reviewed "face to face" with Board members. It is like being in the same room as the Board members even though they are sitting in the Perth office and you are at the clinic or hospital.

Teleconferencing works in the same way that a telephone call does, except that the patient can see people as well as hear them. The Board makes a call to the patient's clinic or hospital and when the call connects, the patient will be able to see and talk to the Board members. Sometimes there is a slight delay between a person speaking and the provided picture.

In a teleconference review the process of review is the same as any other review. Therefore, the patient (and family/carer/advocate) can talk to their psychiatrist (or other treating team members) and to Board members about their involuntary status under the Act. At the end of the review the Board will make a decision about the patient's involuntary status and advise the patient of the decision. A copy of the decision sheet will then be posted to the patient and the psychiatrist.