Since 2009, under the Health and Social Care Reform (Northern Ireland) Act 2009, RQIA has a specific responsibility to assess the health and social care services provided to people with mental ill health or a learning disability.
Our responsibilities include promoting good practice; preventing ill treatment; remedying any deficiency in care or treatment; terminating improper detention in a hospital or guardianship; and preventing or redressing loss or damage to a patient’s property. We talk directly to patients and ask them about their experiences. Use the links below to find out more about our role:
Role of RQIA in Article 86 of the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986
Under the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 (MHO), RQIA holds a statutory duty to “make inquiry into any case where it appears to RQIA that there may be ill-treatment, deficiency in care or treatment, or improper detention in hospital or reception into guardianship of any patient, or where the property of any patient may, by reason of their mental disorder, be exposed to loss or damage”. This duty applies across all settings, including both community-based services and inpatient environments. You can find out more about RQIA’s role in community mental health settings in the Frequently Asked Questions documents below.