MMHA wants authorities to ensure private psychiatric facilities adhere to govt regulations

KLANG: Jane was shocked when she heard the sounds of a woman being beaten up coming from a healthcare centre behind her house.

The mother of two walked over to the place and confronted the management, only to be told that caring for people with mental health issues wasn't easy.

"She also challenged me to take the woman home and care for her when I told her (the home operator) that the patient's family was not paying the home to smack their loved one," said Jane.

When the incident was narrated to Malaysian Mental Health Association (MMHA) president Datuk Dr Andrew Mohanraj (pic), he said his organisation received many such complaints.

"MMHA has been receiving complaints from members of the public regarding suspicions of abuses at private psychiatric facilities.

"Therefore, we call on the relevant authorities to see that such facilities adhere to the provisions under the Mental Health Act and to also strictly ensure no violations take place in these care centres," said Dr Andrew, who is also the president of the Selangor Mental Health Association (SMHA).

He explained that some families had no choice but to place their loved ones in care facilities to ensure adherence to medication intake to prevent relapse and unstable behaviour.

Besides physical assault, patients were also subjected to other forms of "punishment", such as withdrawal of privileges, excessive physical restraint and over-sedation, said Dr Andrew.

He urged private psychiatric nursing homes to comply with the Mental Health Act requirements regarding involuntary admissions.

"As far as possible, all admissions must be voluntary.

"The mental capacity of individuals, even those with chronic mental conditions, cannot be underestimated or based on assumption," he said.

Meanwhile, counselling psychologist and rehabilitation counsellor Joyce Hue said a trained mental health professional would know how to respond and react to patients accordingly.

She said any adverse method of handling these patients, such as physical abuse, could end up causing more damage to their already fragile state of mind.

Hue added that there were psychiatric care facilities suspected of not being registered with the Health Ministry and Welfare Department.

"And because enforcement is slow, the relevant government agencies do not go around doing spot checks," she said.

According to Hue, psychiatric care homes needed ample daily activities for their clients.

"If you place someone in a home where there is not much stimulation, interaction or activities planned, they may even develop a feeling of helplessness or feel abandoned," said Hue.

She added that fully functioning patients must also be allowed to pursue their own activities and interests.

Mental health care provider Jared David said placing someone with mental health issues into a nursing home managed by personnel with questionable experience can be very detrimental to the patient.

"Those with no experience or passion for mental health care can end up taking out their frustrations on residents with serious mental disorders," said David.

He added that family members should ideally look for care homes that advocate psychosocial rehabilitation and are manned by trained professionals.