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歡迎收聽「長者法網智多聲」。在香港，處理精神上無行為能力人士的主要法例，是《精神健康條例》。條例界定了精神上無行為能力人士，可以是精神紊亂或弱智，聽起來好像跟大部份人沒有甚麼關係，但想清楚一點，沒有人可以肯定自己會否患上癡呆症（即腦退化症），變成精神上無行為能力。所以，老友記或家人都不妨了解一下《精神健康條例》的內容，看看這條條例，可以為精神上無行為能力人士和家人，提供甚麼協助。
《精神健康條例》授權有關機關作出命令，委任監護人或受託監管人，協助精神上無行為能力人士及照顧他的人。
那麼「監護」和「受託監管」有甚麼分別呢？簡單來說，監護主要是照顧精神上無行為能力人士的福利，照顧他的日常生活。而受託監管就比較著重處理當事人的財務資產，受託監管人無權代表精神上無行為能力人士，同意接受醫療或牙科治療，亦無權決定他住在哪裡。不過，實際上，管理財產事務和護理治療的事，無可能完全分開處理，所以，受託監管人既然有權支付護老院和醫院的費用，間接也可以決定當事人住在哪間護老院或醫院。總括來看，如果精神上無行為能力的人是比較富裕的話，受託監管應該比較適合，但申請的法律程序亦相對複雜，最好還是找律師幫忙。
無論是監護還是受託監管申請，當局都要先確認當事人是否屬於精神上無行為能力，之後再考慮各種因素，才作出命令。而兩種申請都要依照特定的程序進行，詳情可參考長者社區法網文字版。
有效期方面，監護令的有效期，第一次不會超過一年，至於續期或再次續期的監護令，有效期會由續期起計，不超過三年。如果時間緊迫，監護委員會有權作出緊急監護令，這種監護令的有效期不會超過三個月。但受託監管人的命令，就不會訂明固定任期。受託監管人可以獨立行事，但會受到法庭監督，每年要向法庭呈交財產明細表。跟監護令一樣，如果情況緊急，法庭可以委任臨時接管人先接管財產，再等待進行法庭程序。如果想了解更多監護和受託監管，記得到我們的網頁慢慢看了。拜拜。
PrintGuardianship – When to appoint a Guardian?
- The power to appoint a guardian to take care of a mentally incapacitated person rests with the Guardianship Board, which is a quasi-judicial tribunal having the power to appoint guardians for adults over the age of 18 who are mentally incapable of making their own decisions about their personal affairs, financial matters, or medical or dental treatment. This includes older persons suffering from dementia or stroke who are incapable of taking care of themselves.
In dealing with an application for guardianship, the first question that the Guardianship Board asks is, of course, whether the person concerned is suffering from mental incapacity. If the answer is yes, the Guardianship Board then considers the following factors:
(Note: Prior to the making of a Guardianship Order, it is not yet confirmed that the subject person is mentally incapacitated. The term “person concerned”, instead of “mentally incapacitated person”, would therefore be more appropriate in such circumstances.)
- whether the mentally incapacitated person has a mental disorder or mental handicap of a nature or degree which warrants guardianship;
- whether the mental disorder or handicap limits the individual in making reasonable decisions in respect of all or a substantial proportion of the matters which relate to his/her personal circumstances;
- whether the individual’s particular needs may only be met or attended to by guardianship and that no other less restrictive or intrusive means are available in the circumstances; and
- that it is in the interest of the individual’s welfare or for protection of others that a guardian be appointed.
The Guardianship Board will not make a guardianship order unless all of the above criteria are met.
- An application for guardianship is fundamentally a legal proceeding (though it does not take place in a court room), which has the effect of appointing a guardian to look after the daily needs of a mentally incapacitated person, including an older person suffering from dementia. Therefore, if the person concerned is already receiving adequate assistance from his/her family members, friends or other service providers, an application for guardianship would not be necessary.
- Common examples which justify the application for a Guardianship Order are:
- there are conflicts within the family of the person concerned, or between his/her family and service providers, particularly when the conflicts are about his/her care, medical treatment and accommodation;
- the person concerned objects to his/her proposed care or treatment, e.g. placement in a residential facility;
- a doctor refuses to give non-urgent medical treatment to the person concerned unless there is a guardian consenting to such treatment; or
- the person concerned is suffering from, or at risk of, sexual, physical, emotional, or financial abuse, neglect, self-neglect or exploitation.