Holly Pellatt

The appellant appealed a decision of the Consent and Capacity Board confirming their treating psychiatrist's finding that they were incapable of consenting to treatment with antipsychotic medication and electroconvulsive therapy.

The appellant, who suffers from treatment-refractory schizophrenia, experienced somatic delusions, including a belief that they were pregnant and that the treatments would harm their babies.

The Superior Court of Justice found no palpable and overriding error in the Board's conclusion that the appellant's inability to recognize they were affected by the manifestations of a mental illness rendered them unable to appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences of a treatment decision.

The appeal was dismissed.

The respondent moved to lift the stay of a Consent and Capacity Board decision pending appeal.

The CCB had confirmed the appellant's involuntary status and his incapacity to consent to treatment with antipsychotic medications.

The appellant, appearing self-represented with an amicus curiae, opposed the motion and sought to expedite the appeal instead.

The court applied the four-part test under section 19 of the Health Care Consent Act, 1996, and found that all criteria were satisfied.

The court granted the motion to lift the stay and authorized treatment with Paliperidone pending final disposition of the appeal, while also ordering the appeal to be expedited and heard on October 3, 2025.

The appellant, J.A., appealed a decision of the Superior Court of Justice upholding a finding by the Consent and Capacity Board that he was incapable of consenting to treatment with antipsychotic medication.

The Court of Appeal found no reversible error in the lower court’s decision, upholding the dismissal of the appellant’s adjournment request and the application of the relevant legal principles regarding capacity and consent.

The appeal was dismissed.