Informed consent of persons with mental disabilities

Osobe s duševnim smetnjama su ranjiva skupina u društvu. Zbog njihove dijagnoze i zdravstvenog stanja često je potrebna medicinska intervencija i hospitalizacija. Također zbog svojeg stanja takve osobe nekad nisu u mogućnosti donijeti racionalnu odluku o tome pristaju li na određen medicinski postupak, odnosno liječenje. Stoga je informirani pristanak takvih osoba od izrazite važnosti. Mora ih se upoznati s njihovom dijagnozom, metodama i ciljevima liječenja na njima razumljiv i prikladan način. No, s druge strane, postoje situacije koje zahtijevaju hitnu intervenciju ili u kojima jednostavno osoba nije sposobna shvatiti informacije na koji god način da su joj prenesene. To su situacije u kojima osoba ima težu duševnu smetnju i ugrožava vlastiti ili tuđi život i zdravlje. U tom slučaju važnu ulogu igra zakonodavac koji mora propisati jasna pravila postupanja psihijatrijske ustanove, suda i drugih osoba koje su uključene u taj proces. U našem zakonodavstvu su uređeni dobrovoljni smještaj, smještaj bez pristanka, prisilni smještaj i prisilno zadržavanje.People with mental difficulties are a vulnerable group in society. Due to their diagnosis and health condition, medical intervention and hospitalization are often required. Also, due to their condition, such persons are sometimes not able to make a rational decision about whether they agree to a certain medical procedure or treatment. Therefore, the informed consent of such persons is extremely important. They must be informed about their diagnosis, methods and goals of medical treatment in a way that is understandable and suitable for them. But, on the other hand, there are situations that require immediate intervention or in which a person is simply not able to understand the information in any way it was conveyed. These are situations in which a person has a serious mental disorder and endangers her own life and health or life and health of others. In this case, an important role is played by the legislator, who must prescribe clear rules of conduct for the psychiatric institution, the court and other persons involved in the process. Voluntary hospitalization, hospitalization without consent, forced hospitalization and forced detention are regulated in our legislation