Monday, June 1 2020 12:14

ArmInfo.The rights of the mentally ill in Armenia will be protected at the state level. The parliament at the plenary session on June 1 in the first reading  introduced amendments and additions to the law "On Psychiatric Care"  and the package of related laws.

As Anahit Avanesyan, Deputy Minister of Health of Armenia noted in  her speech, there are so many corrections in the package that one can  talk about a new version of the bill. In particular, as the Deputy  Minister noted, the current law does not have adjustments related to  the rights of patients, and the capabilities of the medical staff  that provide appropriate assistance are limited to some extent. The  new version of the package clearly defines the rights of people  suffering from mental disorders, regardless of their location. The  bill also indicates the responsibilities of psychiatric institutions  and the scope of their responsibility. The bill presents cases in the  presence of which, the rights of people in a psychiatric hospital may  be limited. But these restrictions can be adopted on the basis of the  decision of the consultation of doctors, or in the absence thereof,  on the basis of the opinion of the attending physician, the secret of  the patient's history is also ensured. In addition, the person will  receive the right to appeal against his compulsory hospitalization in  court.

 The package establishes the procedure for conducting forensic  psychiatric examination, the implementation of forensic psychiatric  examination involving commissions. The bill also proposed to  establish clear deadlines on the mandatory conclusion of a doctor  regarding the health status of persons undergoing compulsory  treatment in a psychiatric clinic. Mechanisms are established for  protecting information about the fact of going to a psychiatric  clinic, undergoing examination, diagnosis and treatment. The  amendments establish the procedure for the application of means and  methods of calming, isolation and physical restraint of persons under  treatment. According to the deputy minister, in case of adoption of  the amendments, the situation with observance of the rights of  persons with mental health problems will improve significantly,  mechanisms for protecting these rights will be established.