ArmInfo.The Armenian Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan revealed a number of violations of the rights of persons held in psychiatric institutions of the country. On a number of issues, the materials were sent to the Prosecutor General's Office.
On March 21, an extraordinary report of the Ombudsman on the observance of human rights in psychiatric institutions of Armenia was presented in Yerevan. Tatoyan, presenting an extraordinary report, stressed that the staff of his Office with unannounced visits visited the psychiatric institutions of the country where they monitored the conditions of detention of persons with mental disorders and observance of their rights. "Visits were carried out on the basis of a pre-designed roadmap.All complaints of patients were checked several times, I would like to say that the above-mentioned institutions are subordinate to various state structures.On all the colleagues responsible for these issues were notified about the problems identified during the monitoring, that the explanations of the Ministry of Health of Armenia on the revealed violations were generalized, and did not give a clear answer to the questions raised by us, "said the human rights defender.
The Ombudsman reminded that according to Armenian legislation, people with mental disorders should receive free medical care, however, this condition is not observed in almost all psychiatric institutions, moreover, cases of providing paid services are revealed, which is contrary to the legislation of the country. And in Lori and Shirak regions of the RA, cases of providing paid consultations of a doctor have been revealed. The human rights defender also said that in connection with the violation of the rules for providing free medical care to the above-mentioned persons, a request was sent to the Government of the Republic of Armenia, but they replied that they did not have any information on the issue raised, while in psychiatric institutions they referred to the relevant directions of the Ministry of Health. Tatoyan also expressed concern over the legislative initiative of the Armenian Ministry of Health, which, if approved, would deprive the above-mentioned persons of the right to receive free medical care.
At the same time, the Ombudsman of Armenia reported that during the monitoring, violations related to discrimination of patients, absence of doctors on duty at night, overcrowding of rooms, improper filling of the case histories were revealed. "We also found cases of giving patients overdue medications and improper storage of medicines, in both cases the materials were sent to the Prosecutor General's Office for inspections, and it was also found that most patients are deprived of the right to receive pensions independently and manage their own funds independently.It was found out that in most cases patients We also applied to the Prosecutor General's Office on this issue. employees of these institutions, and the prompt elimination of identified problems and improving the quality of medical services, "said the Ombudsman.
Tatoyan also said that there are also positive cases, so in the psychiatric institutions of the Lori and Syunik regions alternative methods of treatment are applied, for example sewing, gardening or beekeeping. According to the Ombudsman, similar methods of treatment are welcomed, but they should have medical justifications.
The human rights defender also said that in almost all institutions there were no boxes for complaints and proposals, however, after their visits, the Ministry of Labor reported that in all institutions these boxes had already been installed. He also informed that the most violations were recorded in the Nubarashen Psychiatric Hospital. The full text of the report is available on the official website of the Office of the Ombudsman.