Is it, the closure of mental hospitals and lack of proper psychiatric community care that puts public at risk?

Question

for example, in the Ispwich murders and in the Dublin murder of 20 year old Anthony Campbell
Violence due to Mental Illness:
“Many crimes of violence are certainly being committed by people with diminished faculties. A situation currently exists, where patients who were formerly in long-term in-patient care in psychiatric hospitals have been discharged for continuing care in out-patient treatment, in line with the state’s on-going policy of drastically reducing the number of patients in psychiatric hospitals. This has led to major difficulties in treating psychiatric illness in out-patient community settings, …due to lack of motivation by patients to attend for medication and continuing psychiatric assessment, vital to the control of much mental illness. This is exacerbated by the fact that the number of people seeking treatment has continued to increase. Violence committed by people with psychiatric illness has become a major problem for communities expected to care for them.

Go to: http://www.flickr.com/people/jpdublin
for one expert view on this subject
group; Images of Ireland.

Answer 1

I would say that the hospital closures have a very large part to play in dangerous people being released into a community which was not adequately prepared to give the care people needed.
Im a nurse and have worked in hospital for the mentally ill. 90% of people in the hospital are absolutley no danger to the public and its right that they should live in the coimmunity. 6% are a possible risk to the public, but with supervision they can be fine too. The other 4% are a risk. Mostly they are properly supervised but some are not. There are also the people who have a crisis which is completely unpredictable and then become a danger. There are not enough community psychiatric nurses to cope, there is a tendancy to pass the buck and not take responsibily professionally. These add to the risk of violence..;

Answer 2

I agree with most of the comments here, as I also work in a hospital for the mentally ill, and handicapped. It isn't the closures that creates the risks, but the after care. I am also bipolar, and I'm not a risk to anyone but myself. Getting after care, due to funds, is the hardest. If you aren't pregnant, single mom, you can't get help medical help; or absolutely can not work. The state I live in is very stupid when it comes to helping people that have bipolar illness, as not seeing it as a disability. It isn't if it isn't severe, but can be debilitating when you have other issues as well. No, the murders and crimes are not committed by the patients in the hospital, nor the ones on the streets, but by the ones that refuse to get help in the first place. I come from a family that is very against getting any kind of mental help, even for alcoholism and drug addiction. I had an aunt that told me how stupid it is to take medication for being depressed, and she doesn't think that medication is the answer, even going to AA to her is dumb. So, it isn't the patients that are committing the crimes, its the people with closed minds about getting the right help for those of us that do have mental problems and needs medications.

Answer 3

In the United States it is too difficult to lock up a mentally ill person. First you must prove that they are a danger to themselves or others. Often this occurs after they have murdered someone. This sad state is due to the change in the laws about 45 years ago when anyone could get locked up on the say so of a judge based on what a complaining wife would say.

Answer 4

Actually the hospitals aren't to blame its the care after they have been discharged. The nurses/psychiatrists/nurses can do all physically possible to get this person better and suitable for discharge years whilst the patient is detained. once discharged, its then up to the PCT's, social workers and assertive outreach nurses to keep this person on track, this is their job!

Patients are only discharged if deemed suitable and mentally well. Hospitals are constantly fighting to keep patients detained purely for money, not because the patient is unsuitable for discharge

Less than 20% of mentally ill patients are violent and a risk to public so please bare that in mind. Families are also to blame, they are aware their children are developing a mental illness and refuse to accept that fact and attempt to bring them up in the community. Abuse & neglect stays with a person throughout their life.

Also, the majority of murders claim to be mentally ill as an excuse for doing it as most are aware they will have more rights if they are sectioned rather than sent to prison!!

Answer 5

I think that the pendulum has swung too far towards deinstitutionalization and patient choice. Severely mentally ill patients typically do not understand that they need treatment, and involuntary outpatient treatment is very difficult to get authorized. In the USA, prisons have become the largest providers of mental health services. A large proportion of the homeless are mentally ill and/or drug addicted. I'm not sure that this represents progress for patients or society.

Answer 6

I agree with Bex, its the aftercare thats the problem, I am an ex-mental health hospital patient and I can't get a mental health social worker in my area even though I have been told I need one, I can't even get a CPN. I am not and never have been a danger to the public, only to myself and I met a lot of people who suffered exactly the same as me, I never met anyone in hospital who was a danger to anyone even though I was in a secure unit. A lot of people who commit crimes know they will get better treatment if they plead insanity. We need much more money put into aftercare and facilities for people who have been released from mental hospitals so that they are supervised properly and not left to manage on their own which is what is happening now.

Answer 7

Yes I think it is one of the contributing factors to public safety. The lack of mental hospitals etc is also putting the ex-patients at risk too. Some of them are not really capable of looking after themselves. But the people that are commiting these awful murders (who are mentally disturbed) have not been in any of these mental hospitals etc., as they appear normal and give no signs of the evil that is within themselves. They will only be assessed as mentally ill, after they are caught and a psychiatrist has examined them. Have you thought, the Ispwich murderer could be quite sane, but, just plain evil.

Answer 8

I've been in a mental hospital a few times & I swear the people there are the nicest people you could ever meet, I donot know where all these murderers are coming from. Perhaps, all murderers have sth wrong with them mentally, otherwise why would they kill? do u think a normal person would go out to kill sb?
& certainly not all mentally ill people are killers. I certainly haven't met any

Answer 9

Hi, yes I partly agree with what you are saying, but very few 'mental patients' are a risk to anyone but themselves. Yes, there definitely needs to be better treatment but 'locking them up' is not exactly the best solution. There is a big need for better care for 'mental patients' for THEIR OWN good not just the 'normal public'.

Answer 10

Yes it does put the public at risk.When i was on a section 2 my psychiatrist was so concerned he informed the police about me.Mentally ill people do not see the world in the same way as "normal" good citizens do.I could natter on but i'm having someone over for dinner tonight and i have to go.