Patient Rights Are Important to Us
Contact the Patients Rights Office: 617-676-3424
Your rights and dignity are very important to us. We follow the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health’s Six Fundamental Rights for people of all ages:
1. Access to the telephone and privacy of calls as is reasonable and safe
2. Ability to receive and send mail and to have the writing materials and postage to do so
3. Access to receive visitors at reasonable times
4. The right to receive or refuse visits from clergy, attorneys, psychiatrists, therapists
5. Access to fresh air
6. The right to a humane psychological and physical treatment environment as well as the
U.S. Consumer Bill of Rights, which includes:
- the right to be safe
- the right to choose freely
- the right to be heard
- the right to be informed
- the right to education
- the right to service
Additionally, the Human Rights Officer advocates for patients and their families. For specific
concerns, call the Bournewood Human Rights Officer at 617-676-3424.
Information is also posted on each Intensive Treatment Unit with the name of the unit Human
Rights Liaison and the hospital Human Rights Officer.
More Details About Your Rights as a Patient
It is important for patients to be aware of their rights. Please talk to a member of our clinical
staff if you have questions or concerns.
BOURNEWOOD IS DEDICATED TO ALL PATIENTS
Bournewood Hospital is dedicated to the prevention and minimal use of restraint and
seclusion and, whenever possible, to the elimination of these interventions.
This policy is consistent with our mission and philosophy to treat people with dignity,
respect, and mutuality; protect their rights; provide the best care possible; and assist them
in their recovery.
Bournewood Hospital is licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, and
while patients at our inpatient intensive treatment units do not have all the same rights that
people have in the community, certain rights are protected by the U.S. Constitution and/or
Massachusetts General Law Chapter 123, section 23.
Privacy and Confidentiality
Bournewood Hospital policies and state and federal law protect the privacy and
confidentiality of patient identities and information.
In general, any disclosure of clinical information requires a written consent from you, or, if
you are under the age of 18, a parent or guardian. Disclosures, however, can occur without
written consent in certain specific circumstances, such as by judicial order or in a medical
emergency.
RIGHTS REGARDING MAIL
- The right to paper and postage in reasonable amounts.
- The right to reasonable assistance in writing, addressing, and posting mail.
- The right to send and receive “sealed, unopened, uncensored mail.” If you are
present, staff may open and check mail for contraband but may not read it.
RIGHTS REGARDING VISITATION
- The right to receive visitors of your “own choosing daily and in private, at
reasonable times.” Visiting hours may be limited only to “protect the privacy
of other persons and to avoid serious disruptions in the normal functioning
of the facility or program and shall be sufficiently flexible as to
accommodate” your and your visitors’ individual needs and desires. The
right to have visitors may be temporarily suspended for a substantial risk of
serious harm to you or others and less restrictive alternatives would be futile.
Staff must document a suspension in your record and it may last no longer
than the time necessary to prevent the harm.
RIGHTS REGARDING TELEPHONE
- The right to speak by phone with your attorney.
- The right to “reasonable access” to a telephone to make and receive
confidential calls, unless making the call would be a criminal act or cause
an unreasonable infringement of another’s access to the telephone.
- The right to use the phone may be temporarily suspended by the doctor
if there is a substantial risk of serious harm to you or others and less
restrictive alternatives would be futile. Staff must document a
suspension in your record, and it may last no longer than the time
necessary to prevent harm.
RIGHTS REGARDING ACCESS TO ADVOCATES
- The right to be visited (even outside normal visiting hours) by your attorney
or legal advocate, as well as by your physician, psychologist, clergy person or
social worker, regardless of who initiates the visit.
- The right of an attorney (or legal advocate)to access, with your consent your
record, clinical staff, and meetings regarding treatment or discharge planning
which you are entitled to attend.
- The right to “reasonable access by attorneys and legal advocates, including
those of the Mental Health Protection and Advocacy Project, the Committee
for Public Counsel Services, and the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee.”
- Upon admission and upon request, facilities must provide the name, address
and telephone numbers of these legal agencies and must provide you with
“reasonable assistance” in contacting and visiting them.
RIGHT TO A HUMANE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
- The right to a humane environment includes living space that ensures “privacy and security
in resting, sleeping, dressing, bathing and personal hygiene, reading and writing, and in
toileting.”
RIGHT TO REASONABLE DAILY ACCESS TO THE OUTDOORS/FRESH AIR
- You have the right to “reasonable daily access” to the outdoors, consistent with
reasonable schedules.2 “Outdoors” may include a porch, courtyard, roof deck, a
secured outdoor area, or other outdoor area.
- Access may be limited or restricted in cases of bad weather, if the facility cannot
safely provide access, or if a clinician finds it necessary.
- A facility may not require a person to participate in clinical programming as a condition of access to the outdoors.
- Access may be supervised or unsupervised and provided individually or in groups. A facility does not need to provide clinical programs outdoors or provide access to the outdoors “on demand.”
- Each facility should have a written plan of how patients will safely access the outdoors.
- The psychiatrist may limit outdoor access after considering medical conditions, symptoms, legal status, and safety. Any limitation must be documented in the patient’s medical record
- A patient may also request that a limitation be reviewed. However, a facility is not required to make more than one assessment within a 24-hour period.
OTHER LEGAL RIGHTS CONTAINED IN MASS. GEN. L. CH. 123, § 23
- You also have the right to keep and spend a reasonable sum of money for
canteen expenses and small purchases, to wear your own clothes, to keep
and use your personal possessions including toilet articles as is reasonable
and safe, and to have access to individual storage space for your private use.
WHAT TO DO IF THESE RIGHTS ARE DENIED
- If you believe that you were unfairly denied a right while at Bournewood, talk to a member
of your treatment team, the human rights liaison or the Human Rights Officer.
- You may also file a written complaint. Your complaint can be on any piece of paper; a form is
not required. You can give your complaint to any facility employee. That employee must
forward it to the Person in Charge.
If you have questions, contact Bournewood’s Human Rights Officer at 617-676-3424.
