BackThe Human Rights Defender as National Preventive Mechanism has prepared and published an ad hoc report on “Ensuring rights of persons with mental health issues in psychiatric institutions”. The report presents in a systemized way the gross violations identified during the unannounced visits to psychiatric institutions conducted by the NPM subdivision and experts (lawyers, psychologist, psychiatrist, physicians and sociologist) in 2017. Namely, the following issues have been raised in the report:
- Although psychiatric healthcare is free, cases of paid psychiatric services have been detected. Mental healthcare services are inaccessible at community level.
- There are a number of legislative and practical issues related to compulsory treatment provided by the Criminal and Civil Procedure Codes of the Republic of Armenia.
- Means of restraint not envisaged by the law have been used and procedural violations in this regard have been detected.
- The number of the medical staff in psychiatric institutions is inadequate.
- In a number of cases there are no narrowly focused specialists (e.g. pediatric psychiatrist).
- There are no psychiatrists on duty at nighttime and the number of the middle-level medical staff involved in night shift is inadequate, including in Yerevan.
- Expired medication and medical supplies, improper maintenance and disposal of medication have been detected.
- Cases of improper management of record-books on registration and provision of psychotropic medication have been revealed.
- There are no mechanisms for transferring a person to a psychiatric institution and providing adequate medical assistance and service in cases of need of urgent stationary psychiatric assistance and service.
- Except medication treatment, there is a shortage of alternative medical treatment methods.
- Cases of overcrowding in psychiatric institutions have been detected.
- There are issues concerning the separation of women and men's wards in some psychiatric institutions.
- In a number of cases there is a discriminatory approach to persons with mental health issues.
- There is a necessity of renovation and improvement of living conditions, including sanitary and hygiene.
- There are issues with regard to adequate variety and sufficient quantity of nutrition.
- The right to outdoor exercise of persons with mental health issues is not properly maintained.
- There are no mechanisms on the provision of pensions to persons with mental health issues and on their independent management.
The issues raised during the visits, the results of their examination, as well as the recommendations on necessary solutions were presented to the competent authorities of the field. Moreover, information on the expired medication, filling in the record-books on “Drug dispensing and control” with gross violations of the prescribed procedure, including filling in portions of medications, that are dispensed upon special procedure by pencils and taking pensions from persons with mental health issues has been sent to the Prosecutor General’s Office.
The English translation of the report is expected to be available in the nearby future. The Armenian version of the Report can be found here.
Source: Human Rights Defender's Office, Republic of Armenia
