Patient Rights Advisor

Healthy Minds Cooperative (HMC)

We are a community-based, mental health charity offering free services to the public, no referral required. All our staff have first-hand, lived experience in mental health (including addiction) and our passion is to help those working on their mental health challenges by offering them a supportive and safe space to connect, grow, and learn. We offer drop-in mental health support groups, wellness workshops and events, peer navigation, and deliver the Patient's Rights Advisory Service for involuntary psychiatric patients on behalf of the Province of Nova Scotia.

Position Overview

In 2005 Nova Scotia passed the Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act (IPTA). This act established that an involuntary psychiatric patient can access a Patient Rights Advisor (PRA) whose job is to advise them of their rights under the Act. Since October 2020, HMC has held the contract with the Nova Scotia Department of Health & Wellness for delivery of the Patient's Rights Advisor Service (PRAS).

Advisors are casual, on-call employees who live within 15 kilometres of the hospitals in the service area of the community. PRAs may be required to deliver rights during the daytime and in the evenings.

Advisors work within a team of PRAs across the province and report to the Operations Manager and the PRAS team within HMC. The PRAs are required to deliver Patient' Rights within 72 hours of the rights request being received and therefore work on an on-call basis.

Advisors must complete a Criminal Records Check and Vulnerable Sector Check. Advisors are also required to successfully complete a training program and must have access to a reliable source of transportation.

For more information about PRAS, please visit the Patient Rights Advisor Services page.

*Current employees of the IWK and NS Health are not able to work as Patient's Rights Advisors in accordance with IPTA.

Functions & Responsibilities for the Advisor Role

• meet promptly with the involuntary patient and substitute decision maker (SDM) - unless they object
• explain to patient the significance of their situation
• identify available options including the right to have involuntary status reviewed by review board, if there is disagreement with the physician's decision
• communicate in a neutral, non-judgmental manner
• assist patient to make application to review board if requested
• assist patient to obtain legal counsel via Nova Scotia Legal Aid for their hearing, if requested
• maintain confidentiality
• assist patient in carrying out decisions under IPTA, but shall not make decisions for them
• attend the patient's review board hearings
• notify IPTA administrators of patient and SDM decisions
• complete reports and administrative duties in a timely manner as designated by the Operations Manager and PRAS team
• attend monthly virtual team meetings with the PRAS team
• participate in training opportunities either in-person or virtually as determined by the Operations Manager
• reporting to the Operations Manager, while receiving direction from the PRAS team

Advisors will be trained on the following in line with the requirements of the Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act:

• knowledge of mental health and illness as well as the range services available to those with mental illnesses
• knowledge of the review board, including role and function
• knowledge of access, application, policy and procedures of Review Board
• knowledge in obtaining legal services
• must complete a training course

Qualifications & Experience

Advisors are required to have:

• Criminal and Vulnerable Sectors Check
• Access to a personal computer for work
• Knowledge and experience with Microsoft Office 365 including Outlook, Word, & Excel
• Experience and/or capacity to work with confidentiality as a top priority
• Flexible availability and capacity to work under tight deadlines with short notice
• Live within 15 kilometers of the hospital in the community
• Access to reliable transportation

Desirable knowledge, values, skills, & characteristics

• available and prompt in responding to requests
• organized and detailed
• excellent and supportive communicators who can provide complex messaging in a neutral and non-judgemental manner
• experienced, knowledgeable, and skilled in working with people with mental illness
• must have necessary communications skills to perform designated functions effectively;
• previous experience in dealing with individuals with mental illnesses and those who face barriers to accessing services.

Advisors with lived experience of mental illness or professional experience working with those who have mental illness are prioritized in the recruitment process.

Travel

Advisors are required to have access to a reliable vehicle. However, Advisors are not permitted to use their personal vehicle for work purposes outside of travelling to and from the hospitals.

Advisors are compensated for kilometrage based on the NS Health rates outlined by the Province of Nova Scotia. It is expected that Advisors only claim kilometrage related to their work of delivering patient's rights. Additionally, Advisors must submit bi-weekly mileage claims with their time sheets to receive compensation for these expenses.

Compensation

Advisors are paid a yearly stipend of $2500 while also receiving an $30/hr for time worked in travelling to patients, delivering patient's rights, completing reports and administrative duties, team meetings and training. The $2500 stipend is included on bi-weekly payroll at an amount of $96.15.

During the training period (Approximately 10 hours, delivered virtually) there are materials that are needed to be reviewed in advance of the assessment. During this training period there is a stipend of $100 to cover the additional time spent reviewing materials and preparing for the assessment.

There are no additional expenses approved for this position.

Employment Equity

HMC is an equal opportunity employer. We value justice, equity, diversity, decolonial approaches, and inclusion in the workplace. We encourage and prioritize applications from racialized people, Black & African Nova Scotians, Indigenous people, 2SLGBTQIA+ people, and persons with disabilities. We encourage applicants to self-identify if they belong to an underrepresented and/or marginalized community.

HMC is guided by a workplace charter that outlines the importance of working with people with various needs and supporting people who face barriers related to disability and mental illness. HMC is committed to and continuously working toward developing inclusive, barrier-free selection processes and work environments.

If you are contacted to be considered for a job opportunity, advise the HMC representative of accommodation measures that should be taken to enable you to be assessed in a fair and equitable manner. Information relating to these measures will be addressed confidentially.

Job Type: Casual

Pay: $30.30 per hour

Application question(s):

• Patient Rights Advisors must be able to communicate legal information and options in a clear and concise way to individuals undergoing an involuntary psychiatric assessment or admission to hospital. Please share your experience communicating complex information to individuals experiencing high levels of stress or mental acuity.
• The successful applicant must be able to attend hearings with patients. Notice for hearings could only be one week in advance. Do you have the flexibility to attend hearings with patients between the hours of 9 am and 4 pm, Monday through Friday?
• Patient Rights Advisors must live within 15 kilometers of their assigned hospital(s). Do you live within 20 kilometers of the Abbey J. Lane Memorial Building at 5909 Veteran's Memorial Lane, Halifax, Nova Scotia?

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Halifax, NS B3H 2E2