There are still too many who are subjected to coercion in psychiatry, the Danish Health and Medicines Authority concludes on the basis of a new report.
It shows that there has been an increase in the number of adults being subjected to coercion.
We have succeeded in reducing the use of belt fixations. At the same time, however, there has been an increase in the number of people being detained, receiving emergency sedatives and being forcibly treated and hospitalized using coercion.
– This is a very worrying development, says Deputy Director Helene Probst, the National Board of Health, in a press release.
The ambition is to reduce the use of coercion in psychiatry, and this has been the case since 2014 in the country’s five regions.
But efforts to reduce the use of coercion have not been sufficient, the deputy director believes.
– Many have worked hard to reduce the use of coercion. But we have to acknowledge that it is not enough at all.
– It is imperative that everyone continues to focus on reducing the use of coercion at all levels.
– This means that everyone should put a very large managerial focus on the area, and at all levels we should enter into an open dialogue about how we succeed, says Helene Probst.
The Deputy Director announces that the use of coercion will continue.
– We have had a strong focus on how the regions work to reduce coercion, and this focus continues.
– But it is important that we also look at the role of the municipalities and general practice in the time before and after an admission and thus look at the whole process together, says Helene Probst.
The report on the use of coercion covers the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020.
Source: The Nordic Page