Bound and put in nappy at a psychiatric ward (Hungary)

26 July 2010, Budapest. The representative of patients' rights and the patient's legal representative have to be immediately informed about the limitation of personal freedom in hospital. The implementation of such restrictive measures is to be ordered exclusively in keeping with the legal norm and is to be documented, Hungarian Ombudsman Máté Szabó warned after investigating a complaint.

The minor in question was bound and put in a nappy despite there previously having been no need for it. The parent was not informed about the forced measure and was not informed about the condition of the child for five days. A mother complained to the Ombudsman about the events that had taken place in the psychiatric ward of the St. George Hospital of Fejér County.

The deputy medical director and the consultant head of the department explained to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Civil Rights that there are days on duty when several consultations are held as well as acute care being provided, and that it is not, therefore, always certain that the doctor can talk to relatives at a date fixed in advance. The deputy medical director informed the Ombudsman about the measure pertaining to the restriction of personal freedom in the case in question. During the period when the upper limbs were tied, the minor was continuously awake and his condition was monitored by the nurses as well as by the doctor.

In his report, the Ombudsman pointed out that, according to the Act on Healthcare, the representative of patients' rights and the patient's legal representative should be informed without delay when a limitation of personal freedom, such as binding, is ordered. He also drew attention to the aim of the implementation and documentation of measures for the limitation of personal freedom as stipulated by law, stating that such a measure, which restricts a basic right, should only be applied under adequate safeguards.

The investigation found that the complainant was not informed and that the measures limiting personal freedom were not documented as stipulated by the legal norm. In his report, the Ombudsman requested that the director-general of the hospital modify the internal regulations in order to detail the limitations placed on psychiatric patients and to respect the legal rules.

© Office of the Hungarian Parliamentary Commissioner for Civil Rights, 2010