Patient documentation “a slow process”

It sometimes takes more than a month for complaints about psychiatric treatment from patients and families to reach the Complaints Committee.

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In six of the 16 complaints processed by the committee last year, it took between 21 and 57 days for the psychiatric ward to forward the relevant documentation to the committee.

This is unacceptable, says the committee in its 2018 annual report.

Coercive measures

Last year’s 16 complaints concerned 22 coercive measures, including the strapping down of a patient down and compulsory admission.

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Such matters are urgent, as they involve an involuntary loss of liberty. 

The committee usually needs to reach a conclusion within a week or two, so a waiting time of 21 to 57 days for documents to arrive is far too long, the report says.

Translated by prosa.fo