The Draft Law of the Ministry of Health was voted today with the title, “Doctor for all, equal and quality access to the services of the National Organization for the Provision of Health Services and to Primary Health Care and other provisions”.
Within the Draft Law there is a provision, the object of which is the way of transferring the mentally ill to an appropriate Mental Health Unit, during the process of involuntary hospitalization and following a prosecutor’s order.
After three decades of legislative vacuum, one of the main problems of the mental health sector in Greece is now being regulated. Until now, the transfer of the mentally ill was carried out by the police authorities, without special training.
The image of the mentally ill man in handcuffs in a car, as if he were an arrested person, not only does not comply with modern psychiatric principles, but further burdens the patient’s mental health, aggravates the stigma and degrades his right to human dignity. The mentally ill are no different from other patients, they should not be treated as prisoners, they are not criminals.
The police will participate in the transfer in exceptional cases and only when their presence is absolutely necessary.
For a number of years, the modernization of transference during involuntary hospitalization has been a key requirement of many associations of patients and institutions in the field of mental health.
With the new provision and with a sign primarily humanitarian, the procedure is assigned to the specialized psychiatric and nursing staff of the Community Mental Health Units and is carried out with specially designed vehicles, under the constant coordinating supervision of the Independent Department of Health Operations of the EC.
These Units, subsidized by the Ministry of Health, are one of the pillars of psychiatric reform, which began in our country 20 years ago. Today, the interconnected Community Units with the Public Health System are called upon to support, through their training and many years of experience in the field of mental health, the transfer of involuntarily hospitalized patients.
In 2021, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry of Health and the Ministries of Civil Protection and Justice on the issue of the transfer of the allegedly mentally ill, during the process of involuntary hospitalization.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Zoe Rapti, who supported the new regulation in the Plenary Session of the Parliament, stated:
“Today, for the first time in at least 30 years, the Government, with a provision of the bill in question, solves the big issue of the transfer of the mentally ill during the involuntary hospitalization process. The main goal is to protect the rights and dignity of the mentally ill. , who should be treated like any patient, and not as “dangerous.” The mentally ill are not incarcerated
The Community Mental Health Units will contribute to the substantial upgrade of the transport of the allegedly mentally ill, achieving conditions of safety and dignity.
“Only in exceptional cases will the police authorities be involved in the transfer.”
Source: Capital
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