During unannounced visits in 2017, the Office of Human Rights Defender has detected gross violations in psychiatric institutions. As a result of monitoring the following issues have been raised.
- 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 restrain not envisaged by the law have been used and violations of the procedure on using them 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 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.
- Absence of 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 problems.
- There is a necessity of renovation and improvement of housing conditions, including sanitary and hygienic.
- There are issues with regard to food provision of adequate variety and sufficient quantity.
- The right to outdoor exercise of persons with mental health problems is not properly maintained.
- There are no mechanisms on providing pensions to persons with mental health problems and on their independent self-managing.
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.
The Human Rights Defender has sent the detected information to the Prosecutor General’s Office. The information is related to 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 dispensing upon special procedure by pencils and taking pensions from persons with mental health problems.
The English translation of the report is expected to be available in the near future.
The Armenian version of the report is available here.