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19 1945

MENTAL TREATMENT ACT, 1945

PART XVII.

Recovery of Cost of Maintenance and Treatment in District Mental Hospitals.

Liability to maintain relations.

230. —(1) For the purposes of this Act and without prejudice to any obligations for the time being imposed by law otherwise than by or for the purposes of this Act, the following provisions shall have effect:—

(a) every legitimate person shall be liable to maintain his or her father and mother;

(b) every illegitimate person shall be liable to maintain his or her mother;

(c) every man shall be liable to maintain such of his legitimate children as are for the time being under the age of sixteen years;

(d) every woman shall be liable to maintain such of her children, whether legitimate or illegitimate, as are for the time being under the age of sixteen years;

(e) every married man shall be liable to maintain his wife and shall also be liable to maintain every child, whether legitimate or illegitimate, of his wife who was born before her marriage to him and is for the time being under the age of sixteen years;

(f) every married woman shall be liable to maintain her husband.

(2) Every reference in this Act to a person who is liable to maintain another person shall be construed as meaning a person who is by virtue of this section liable for the purposes of this Act to maintain such other person.

Particulars for determining if person is a chargeable patient.

231. —Where—

(a) a person is received into a district mental hospital, and

(b) the mental hospital authority maintaining the hospital do not know whether the person is or is not a chargeable patient, and

(c) the mental hospital authority are not the public assistance authority for the public assistance district in which the person ordinarily resided before his reception,

the mental hospital authority shall send particulars of the name and residence of the person to such public assistance authority and that authority shall thereupon send in the prescribed form to the mental hospital authority the particulars necessary to enable the mental hospital authority to determine whether the person is or is not a chargeable patient and, if he is a chargeable patient, what contribution is proper to be made by him or on his behalf towards the cost of the mental hospital assistance given to him.

Liability to contribute to cost of mental hospital assistance.

232. —Where a mental hospital authority give mental hospital assistance to any person (in this section referred to as the patient), the following provisions shall have effect:—

(a) every person who is liable to maintain the patient shall be liable to contribute according to his ability to the cost of the assistance;

(b) the authority may apply to the District Court, on notice to any of the persons liable to maintain the patient, for an order for the contribution by that person to the cost of the assistance;

(c) where, on an application to the District Court for an order under this section, the Court is satisfied that the person against whom the order is sought is, at the time of the hearing of the application, able to contribute to the cost of the assistance, the Court shall fix the amount of the contribution to be made by him and shall order the making by him to the authority of the contribution so fixed either in one sum or by such weekly or monthly instalments as the Court thinks proper;

(d) an order by the District Court under this section for payment to the authority shall be enforceable in the like manner and by the like means as an order by the District Court for the payment of a sum of money in a civil case is enforceable;

(e) the authority shall not recover by means of applications under this section to the District Court a greater amount than the cost of the assistance or, where a contribution has been made in pursuance of this section, a greater amount than the difference between the contribution and the cost of the assistance.

Liability to repay cost of mental hospital assistance.

233. —Where a mental hospital authority have given mental hospital assistance to any person (in this section referred to as the patient) and none or part only of the cost of the assistance has been repaid to the authority, the following provisions shall have effect in regard to the amount of such cost or of the part thereof not repaid (as the case may be):—

(a) it shall be the duty of the patient or, on his default, whether complete or partial, of every person liable to maintain him, to repay such amount to the authority according to their respective abilities;

(b) where the authority are of opinion that the patient is able to repay to them the whole or part of such amount, they may apply to the District Court on notice to the patient for an order for repayment as aforesaid by the patient and the Court, if it so thinks proper, may appoint a person to represent the patient for all purposes connected with the application;

(c) where the authority are at any time of opinion that the patient is unable to repay to them such amount and that any of the persons who were, at the time when the assistance was given, liable to maintain the patient is able to repay to them the whole or part of such amount, they may apply to the District Court on notice to that person for an order for repayment as aforesaid by him;

(d) where, on an application under this section to the District Court for repayment, the Court is satisfied that the person from whom repayment is sought is, at the time of the hearing of the application, able to repay the whole or part of the amount repayment of which is sought, the Court shall fix the repayment to be made by him and shall order the making by him to the authority of the repayment so fixed either in one sum or by such weekly or monthly instalments as the Court thinks proper;

(e) an order by the District Court under this section for repayment to the authority shall be enforceable in the like manner and by the like means as an order by the District Court for the payment of a sum of money in a civil case is enforceable;

(f) the authority shall not, by means of applications under this section to the District Court, recover more than such amount.

Appropriation of property.

234. —(1) Where a person receiving mental hospital assistance in a mental institution maintained by a mental hospital authority owns any money or security for money, the authority may—

(a) if the person has such money in his physical possession, take and appropriate it and thereout reimburse themselves in respect of the cost of the mental hospital assistance given by them to the person at any time before such taking, and retain the balance (if any) on behalf of the person,

(b) if the person has such security in his physical possession, take and realise it or a sufficient portion thereof and out of the proceeds reimburse themselves in respect of the cost of the mental hospital assistance given by them to the person at any time before such taking, and retain the balance (if any) on behalf of the person,

(c) in any case, by appropriate legal proceedings, make such money or security available for their reimbursement in respect of the cost of the mental hospital assistance given by them to the person at any time before the institution of the proceedings and reimburse themselves accordingly.

(2) Where a person receiving mental hospital assistance from a mental hospital authority dies and at his death owns any money or other property, the authority may—

(a) where the circumstances so permit, take and appropriate out of such money a sum sufficient to reimburse themselves in respect of the expenses (if any) incurred by them in burying his body and the cost of the mental hospital assistance given by them to the person at any time before his death,

(b) where the circumstances so permit, take and realise such property or a sufficient portion thereof and out of the proceeds reimburse themselves in respect of such expenses and cost,

(c) in any case, by appropriate legal proceedings make such money or property available for their reimbursement in respect of such expenses and cost and reimburse themselves accordingly.

(3) In the foregoing sub-sections of this section, the word “money” includes money deposited in the Post Office Savings Bank or in any other bank and the expression “security for money” includes a deposit book issued by the Post Office Savings Bank to a depositor and also includes a Savings Certificate, and the powers conferred by those sub-sections respectively on a mental hospital authority shall include—

(a) in the case of money in the Post Office Savings Bank, power, on obtaining possession of the deposit book issued in respect thereof by that Bank, to withdraw the money or a sufficient portion thereof in accordance with regulations in that behalf made by the Minister for Finance,

(b) in the case of money in any other bank, power to apply to the District Court for, and, if that Court so thinks proper, to obtain, an order directing the bank to pay the money or a sufficient portion thereof to such mental hospital authority,

(c) in the case of a Savings Certificate, power on obtaining possession thereof, to realise it in accordance with rules in that behalf made by the Minister for Finance.