Human Rights Commission: "Installing 'Beds and Toilets Without Partitions' in Psychiatric Hospital Protection Rooms Constitutes Human Rights Violation"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has ruled that installing a bed and a toilet together in a protection room within a psychiatric medical institution constitutes a human rights violation.

On the 2nd, the Human Rights Commission announced that it recommended the Minister of Health and Welfare to establish specific standards regarding the structure and facilities of protection rooms, including the installation of toilets with privacy partitions, and to include these standards in the "Enforcement Rules of the Act on the Improvement of Mental Health and the Support for Welfare Services for Mental Patients (Mental Health Welfare Act)" or in the Ministry of Health and Welfare's directives.

According to the Human Rights Commission's investigation, patient A, who was admitted for mental illness treatment while undergoing treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis, stayed in a protection room for about five days until it was confirmed that the tuberculosis was non-contagious. The protection room had a bed and a toilet installed in the same space without separate partitions or ventilation facilities. Moreover, the locking mechanism was installed only outside the protection room, allowing staff to enter at any time. The room was constantly exposed to closed-circuit television (CCTV), and the structure allowed anyone to see inside the protection room through the door at any time.

The Human Rights Commission stated, "The closed and poor environment of the protection room may adversely affect the safety and health of patients who require special care, contrary to the purpose of treatment, so the protection room needs to be similar to a general hospital room environment." It judged that "(the installation of a bed and a toilet together in the protection room) is an act that undermines the basic dignity as a human being and infringes on the human dignity guaranteed by Article 10 of the Constitution."

Furthermore, the investigation revealed that not only the hospital in question but also other hospitals had poor protection room environments, such as not installing toilets or using urinals or portable toilets depending on financial circumstances. The Human Rights Commission stated, "This is judged to have resulted from the lack of common standards regarding the size and facilities of protection rooms in closed wards of psychiatric medical institutions." It added, "We have recommended that the Ministry of Health and Welfare establish common standards for the structure and facilities of protection rooms and include them at least in the Enforcement Rules of the Mental Health Welfare Act or in the Ministry's directives."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.