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Mental Hospitals' Human Rights Violations Including Involuntary Hospitalization
Date : 2008.03.31 00:00:00
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Mental Hospitals' Human Rights Violations Including Involuntary Hospitalization
Mr. Choi (aged 38) and Mr. Kim (aged 77) filed a complaint in March and May 2007 against the president of a hospital in Gimpo city, Gyeonggi Province (hereafter "Hospital A") and other individuals, requesting investigations and appropriate countermeasures regarding human rights violations including illicit involuntary hospitalization and illegal restriction of the physical freedom of patients, the excessive installation of surveillance cameras, and the overcrowding of the hospital. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) conducted investigations and issued recommendations as follows:
1. The NHRCK informed the Prosecutor General that the former presidents of Hospital A (Mr. Kim and Mr. Lee) illegally held three homeless patients--Mr. Kim, Mr. Gang, and Mr. Yu--in long-term custody without their guardians' consent and without requesting regular assessment on whether to continue their hospitalization;
2. The NHRCK recommended that the governor of Gyeonggi Province carry out a special audit and take necessary administrative measures concerning Hospital A's breaches of the due hospitalization and discharge procedures such as involuntary hospitalization without the guardian's consent, involuntary hospitalization without diagnosis by a psychiatrist, and failures to request regular assessment on continued hospitalization;
3. The NHRCK recommended that the mayor of Bucheon city issue a warning to the responsible civil servant and toughen the city's guidance and oversight regarding the municipalities and mental health facilities under their jurisdiction;
4. The NHRCK recommended that the mayor of Gimpo city (i) take necessary action including administrative measures against the violations of the Mental Health Act committed by Hospital A, (ii) issue a warning to the city government's civil servants responsible, (iii) devise and put in place a plan to prevent recurrence of similar human rights violations, and (iv) strengthen the city's guidance and oversight regarding the mental health facilities within the city; and
5. The NHRCK recommended that the president of Hospital A immediately redress its violations of the Mental Health Act and formulate and implement an effective plan to prevent recurrence of such. The violations committed include breaches of the hospitalization procedures concerning persons with mental disabilities and of the obligation to make written notification, failures to request regular assessment on continued hospitalization, unjustifiable isolation, involuntarily putting patients in restraints, and the failure to satisfy the human resources standards.
