Hi everyone. Sorry for the delay in posting - it's been a wild week.
Well, I went to the directions hearing at VCAT on Monday. The hospital's lawyer asked for my complaint to remain 'struck out' because it was frivolous. Naturally I argued against that and the deputy president agreed that the complaint had enough merit to justify a full hearing! The hearing date has been set for 27th October this year.
In the meantime, I need to file the particulars of my complaint, next month there will be mediation (that should be interesting!), then witness statements get filed.
While I got the outcome I was hoping for, I did find the whole process very disempowering. The deputy president asked the hospital's lawyer to explain what the case was about, rather than me! I was given very little opportunity to speak which I found extremely frustrating. And again I was told that smoking is not 'an attribute acknowledged under the Equal Opportunity Act' - however the deputy president did listen to one of my three arguments regarding this. A number of legal points were raised which I need to investigate. I think that I may need to hire a lawyer - even just for a few sessions - to check out some of the legal details - so watch out for a legal fundraising campaign to start on my Facebook site this weekend...
The campaign for freedom and fairness lives to fight another day!
Smoking bans are being implemented in psychiatric wards (including outdoor areas) all over Australia, forcing involuntary mental health patients to quit smoking against their will. These bans increase distress amongst people already in severe crisis, impede recovery and put people at risk. This cause aims to get these bans repealed, and smoking areas re-established in suitable outdoor areas.
Well done!
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Keep up the good work, Belinda and F2C Scotland have been campaigning on this issue for a long time.
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