Review panels are a formal mechanism to ensure patients’ rights are upheld under the Mental Health Act and community treatment orders (CTOs). A review panel consists of a chairperson, a psychiatrist, and a member of the public.
Both patients and physicians can request a review panel hearing:
- Formal patients have the right to appeal any of their certificates, including admission and renewal certificates as well as a certificate of mental incompetence.
- Physicians may request a hearing to have a CTO issued in situations where the patient or their substitute decision-maker are not consenting to treatment they deem necessary.
- People subject to a CTO have the right to appeal their admission certificates or their CTO.
Review Panel Information
Mental Health and Addiction, Government of Alberta
