In early 2014, a middle-aged couple died at home of heat stroke on a day when the outside temperature had reached 44 degrees celsius. Both members of the couple were consumers of their local area mental health service and were taking antipsychotic medication.
More recently, a middle-aged man who was taking antipsychotic medication died while walking some distance from his home to an inpatient unit in temperatures of 38 degrees celsius.
As a result of these tragic incidents, the Coroner has directed me to require all mental health services to develop a suitable plan to support vulnerable mental health consumers at times of extreme weather conditions. To maximise their value, these plans should also make reference to responses to other emergency situations.
Services that have not done so already should develop policies and procedures relevant to their consumer groups and localities, with appropriate allocation of responsibilities.
Details
- Topic
- Policies and guidelines
- Date published
- 16 Oct 2016
- Author
- Department of Health
- Update frequency
- Annual
Downloads
Reviewed 01 September 2023