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The investigation examined 1,500 admissions in June 2017, with some people being admitted more than once, and for an average of 14 days, he said.

In some cases, doctors did not explain why a patient was being admitted and in 24 per cent of admissions, no consent form was obtained, Chalke said, adding more than half of involuntary patients did not sign a form advising them of their legal rights including how to challenge their detention.

“In other cases, a standard rubber stamp was used covering any possible treatment in boilerplate language rather than specifically identifying a particular treatment for that individual.”

Chalke said proper procedure must be followed because 15,000 involuntary admissions were recorded in B.C. in 2016-17, an increase of 70 per cent in a decade.

Laura Johnston, a lawyer with the Community Legal Assistance Society, said the report reflects what the group has said for years about the need to comply with the Mental Health Act in a system that is “operating in darkness.”

“We’re concerned that there’s no oversight or monitoring of the mental health system,” she said.

Johnston said she met with government officials after the society released its own report in 2017 but there’s still no commitment to change a law that allows patients to be put in mechanical restraints and solitary confinement without limits or review.

“Those of us who work in community with involuntarily detained patients have been saying for years that we see compliance problems,” she said.