Law passed in China to protect mentally ill
Source: Agencies |
October 27, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA yesterday adopted a long-awaited mental health law that aims to prevent normal people from being wrongly institutionalized while also protecting the rights of the mentally ill.
In a country where 16 million people suffer from some kind of mental disorders, the law standardizes mental health care services for them, requires general hospitals to set up special outpatient clinics or provide counseling, and train more doctors.
Debated for years, the law attempts to address an imbalance in Chinese society - a lack of mental health care services for a population that has grown more prosperous but also more aware of modern-day stresses and the need for treatment.
Psychiatrists who helped draft and improve the legislation welcomed its passage.
"The law will protect the rights of mental patients and prevent those who don't need treatment from being forced to receive it," said Dr Liu Xiehe, an 85-year-old psychiatrist in Chengdu, capital of the southwestern Sichuan Province, who drafted the first version of the law in 1985.
"Our mental health law is in line with international standards. This shows the government pays attention to the development of mental health and the protection of people's rights in this area," Liu said.
Forced treatment
Pressure has grown on the government in recent years after reported cases of people forced into mental hospitals when they did not require treatment. Some were placed there by employers with whom they had wage disputes, others by their family members in dispute over money.
On October 10, or World Mental Health Day, four people who claim to have been wrongly institutionalized sent written pleas to hospitals and courts across China, demanding fairer diagnoses of mental diseases and greater scrutiny of patients' custodians.
Among them was Chen Guoming, a former gold store owner, who was forced into an asylum in February 2011 by his wife and locked up for 56 days after refusing to lend money to his in-laws at their request.
When he was released, he found his wife had transferred nearly 800,000 yuan (US$126,182) from his account and taken all of the jewelry in his store. His losses totaled 6 million yuan.
In a country where 16 million people suffer from some kind of mental disorders, the law standardizes mental health care services for them, requires general hospitals to set up special outpatient clinics or provide counseling, and train more doctors.
Debated for years, the law attempts to address an imbalance in Chinese society - a lack of mental health care services for a population that has grown more prosperous but also more aware of modern-day stresses and the need for treatment.
Psychiatrists who helped draft and improve the legislation welcomed its passage.
"The law will protect the rights of mental patients and prevent those who don't need treatment from being forced to receive it," said Dr Liu Xiehe, an 85-year-old psychiatrist in Chengdu, capital of the southwestern Sichuan Province, who drafted the first version of the law in 1985.
"Our mental health law is in line with international standards. This shows the government pays attention to the development of mental health and the protection of people's rights in this area," Liu said.
Forced treatment
Pressure has grown on the government in recent years after reported cases of people forced into mental hospitals when they did not require treatment. Some were placed there by employers with whom they had wage disputes, others by their family members in dispute over money.
On October 10, or World Mental Health Day, four people who claim to have been wrongly institutionalized sent written pleas to hospitals and courts across China, demanding fairer diagnoses of mental diseases and greater scrutiny of patients' custodians.
Among them was Chen Guoming, a former gold store owner, who was forced into an asylum in February 2011 by his wife and locked up for 56 days after refusing to lend money to his in-laws at their request.
When he was released, he found his wife had transferred nearly 800,000 yuan (US$126,182) from his account and taken all of the jewelry in his store. His losses totaled 6 million yuan.
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