Thursday, January 30 2020 12:01

ArmInfo. The rights of mentally ill citizens of Armenia will be regulated at the legislative  level.

At the January 30 meeting, the Government of the Republic of Armenia  approved amendments to the Law "On Psychiatric Aid" and the package  of related laws. The package in the prescribed manner will be sent to  the country's parliament.

Presenting the draft decision, RA Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan  emphasized that the package had been developed over the past 1.5  years. It aims to resolve issues related to the protection of the  rights of persons with mental disorders, regardless of their  location. The documents also present the duties and  esponsibilities  of medical institutions, streamline cases and procedures for  restricting the rights of mentally ill patients in medical  institutions. These restrictions may be adopted solely on the basis  of a decision of the psychiatric commission and the court.

For the first time, the package presents the procedure and methods of  compulsory treatment and isolation of people suffering from mental  disorders, indicating the specific terms of this isolation.  The  state guarantees the provision of both free and paid services as part  of government procurement programs. The state provides state control  over specialized medical institutions with the possibility of  conducting their public monitoring. The package also included for the  first time the possibility of providing psychiatric care by a family  doctor. Provisions are made regarding the confidentiality of medical  examination results. The Minister announced the ongoing measures to  improve psychiatric clinics, which, according to him, will meet  international standards in the near future.

In turn, the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of  Armenia Zaruhi Batoyan stated that international structures insist on  refusing forced treatment and isolation. She emphasized that the  republic is not yet ready for this step.

However, the Prosecutor General Arthur Davtyan does not agree with  this point of view, who indicated 2 cases of murder of parents by  persons suffering from mental disorders. "It is interesting that,  after treatment, they committed a crime a few days after leaving the  clinic," said the prosecutor general.