(Apr. 23, 2015) Alex, a 26-year-old suffering with schizophrenia whose last name remains anonymous, was transferred to the emergency room of a hospital in Vermont last month after an outburst at an outpatient psychiatric facility.
But public records show that after a disturbance with hospital staff, he was transferred to the police rather than being treated for the symptoms of his psychotic episode (“Vermont hospital treated mental patients as criminals, public records show,” Aljazeera America, Apr. 22).
Upon hearing Alex’s case, a Windsor County judge refused to incarcerate him and instead ordered that he return to the hospital for evaluation. After being screened, it was determined that Alex required hospitalization to treat his schizophrenia.
Hospitals are required by federal law to treat patients in need of emergency care, including psychiatric care. However, there have consistently been reports across the country of “patient dumping,” a practice where hospitals turn away or discharge patients who cannot afford services.
“The treatment of mental illness is and has been an unwanted child in the American health system,” said attorney Susan Preston in testimony before a Civil Rights panel on patient dumping cases last year.
Unfortunately, this practice of passing off the mentally ill from the mental health system to the criminal justice system and back again is nothing new.
Jails are increasingly becoming dumping grounds for people with severe psychiatric illnesses. In fact, 10 times more people with serious mental illness are in jails and prisons than in hospitals.
The Treatment Advocacy Center has long said that jailing violent suspects with severe mental illness instead of sending them to a hospital for stabilization is cruel and inhumane.
Read our report on the treatment of persons with mental illness in prisons and jails to learn more.
To comment, visit our Facebook page.
Visit our blog archive to read all our recent posts.
But public records show that after a disturbance with hospital staff, he was transferred to the police rather than being treated for the symptoms of his psychotic episode (“Vermont hospital treated mental patients as criminals, public records show,” Aljazeera America, Apr. 22).
Upon hearing Alex’s case, a Windsor County judge refused to incarcerate him and instead ordered that he return to the hospital for evaluation. After being screened, it was determined that Alex required hospitalization to treat his schizophrenia.Hospitals are required by federal law to treat patients in need of emergency care, including psychiatric care. However, there have consistently been reports across the country of “patient dumping,” a practice where hospitals turn away or discharge patients who cannot afford services.
“The treatment of mental illness is and has been an unwanted child in the American health system,” said attorney Susan Preston in testimony before a Civil Rights panel on patient dumping cases last year.
Unfortunately, this practice of passing off the mentally ill from the mental health system to the criminal justice system and back again is nothing new.
Jails are increasingly becoming dumping grounds for people with severe psychiatric illnesses. In fact, 10 times more people with serious mental illness are in jails and prisons than in hospitals.
The Treatment Advocacy Center has long said that jailing violent suspects with severe mental illness instead of sending them to a hospital for stabilization is cruel and inhumane.
Read our report on the treatment of persons with mental illness in prisons and jails to learn more.
To comment, visit our Facebook page.
Visit our blog archive to read all our recent posts.