Ombudsman of Armenia revealed a number of violations of the rights of  persons held in psychiatric institutions of the country

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.