Chrysalis

Here is another blog I wrote recently for http://www.madprideireland.ie on the serious issue of voluntary agencies in Ireland. I address the need to maybe audit the behaviour, outlook and modis operandi of many of our ‘so called’ voluntary groups to see if they are really working for those they claim to be supporting or merely self purpetuating industries.
A recent article in theJournal.ie (http://tinyurl.com/954zgab ) has highlighted to us in Mad Pride Ireland that many of our colleague organisations in the mental health debate spend as much, or more, time playing the tune of the establishment than doing what they are supposed to which is to stand unwaveringly for human rights.
Both Amnesty Ireland (AI) and Mental Health Reform (MHR) are quoted in the article welcoming a move by Junior Minister Kathleen Lynch in her review of the Mental Health Act 2001 to reduce the review of incarceration by a tribunal from 21 days to 11. This idea of a reduced timeframe is being proposed by the steering group set up by Minister Lynch, the fact that she is speaking about it publicly indicates that it will be one of the eventual changes.
Let’s look at what these, so called, voluntary groups had to say:
MHR – “…the reduction in time has the potential to be positive, in that people who do not need to be in hospital will not have to wait so long before being assessed…”
Let’s just look at this sentence, the sentiment is that if someone who is taken into a psychiatric hospital and maybe should not be there will be able after a period of incarceration and medication to have their case reviewed. I am sorry but it is a lot simpler in my mind, if a person is taken into a psychiatric hospital and maybe should not be there then they SHOULD have the right to an immediate review. If a person is arrested on suspicion of a crime they have the right to consult THEIR solicitor, they have the right to challenge their arrest and in cases of ambiguity will be able to avail of bail laws and return to their own homes.
So we treat suspected criminals with a far greater level of human rights than we do the mad community. We offer more protections to those who may have been involved in serious and violent crimes then we do those who because of life’s stresses have entered a period of emotional distress. We punish the vulnerable members of society at a time when they most need our compassion and care.
So what had AI to say:
‘Amnesty International Ireland recommends that voluntary patients have the right to leave the approved centre at any time unless the criteria for detention as an involuntary patient apply, and he or she shall be informed of that right. (http://tinyurl.com/954zgab )’
AI recommending that voluntary patients can leave mental health facilities is simply laughable. We have all heard the direct evidence from patients across the country that on attempting to leave were told they had suddenly become an involuntary patient because the opinion of their psychiatrist, backed up by a colleague, was that they should not leave. The result of this change is the immediate loss of one’s human rights and the sudden transfer of control over your life and liberty to your psychiatrist. Does this sound like a caring and comforting environment to anyone??
Basically we are back to window dressing; the issue with the tribunal system is that it is heavily weighted toward the system and away from the individual. Relying on those who work within, and profit from such a system to change it is like relying on politicians to institute political reforms that would cost them their seats, it won’t happen. We are, as always, dealing with basic human rights and we need not only psychiatry but politics and the voluntary sector to step up and either fight for those human rights or at least be honest with us that they are compromising.
My late father, John, was a thorn in the side of many of those we work with in this debate because he was unwilling to waiver on the core principal of the need for equal human rights for all of us. Well Mad Pride Ireland has not gone away and we will continue to be a thorn in many sides, we will continue to argue against those who for whatever reason, you’ll have to ask them yourself, agree to compromise with government instead of fighting for true human rights. We mightn’t have the voice dad had but we do have a voice and we will use it…