Human Rights Commission: "Hospital Forced Patients Without Doctor's Orders... Accepts Correction Recommendation"

National Human Rights Commission of Korea building. Photo by National Human Rights Commission

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Human Rights Commission announced on the 17th that its recommendation for a psychiatric hospital to comply with relevant laws and conduct human rights education for staff after restraining and neglecting mental illness patients without a specialist's order has been accepted.

The Commission stated, "The hospital created human rights education materials including the case of human rights violations and conducted staff training. It also responded that in the future, patient restraint will only be implemented when a doctor diagnoses and orders it as necessary for treatment according to the Mental Health Welfare Act." The Commission had recommended on June 21 last year that the hospital director comply with the Mental Health Welfare Act when implementing isolation and restraint and provide human rights education to affiliated staff.

Previously, the complainant filed a complaint with the Commission in 2020, stating that while hospitalized at a psychiatric hospital, a nurse isolated and restrained them without a doctor's order, causing injuries such as blisters and skin peeling on their wrists due to these measures. The hospital claimed, "The complainant was unable to properly recognize due to alcohol dependence and worsening depressive symptoms and posed a high risk of impulsive behavior, so isolation was done for treatment purposes. When the patient refused injections and was uncooperative, restraint was applied without the attending physician's order to administer the injection. It was confirmed that the complainant moved their body, causing skin peeling and blisters on the wrist area."

According to the Commission's investigation, the complainant was isolated more than four times and restrained twice due to high violence from alcohol dependence syndrome and severe depression. However, records of isolation and restraint, doctor's orders, and nursing records did not contain these entries. The Commission pointed out, "Isolation and restraint for treatment or protection purposes must be implemented very restrictively under the direction of a psychiatrist because they pose serious concerns about infringing on physical freedom." Furthermore, it emphasized, "If such measures are taken, the reasons, diagnosis, start and end times, the person ordering, and the person performing must be recorded in the isolation and restraint records according to the Mental Health Welfare Act and related laws."

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