it it means anything, im the guy that normally gets stuck there doing the suicide watches. believe me, they dont wanna be on the watch, and i dont like sitting there watching someone sleep when i could be sleeping myself.
I had a similar experience not long ago. From what you've said, the hospital has more grounds to lock your friend up than they did mine, but still, maybe you will find something of use here:
A psychiatric hospital cannot hold a person against their will unless they can prove that the person either:
a) ...cannot survive in the outside world by whatever resources are available to them. (i.e. friends, family, anyone who will testify to the court that they would take care of the person.)
b) ...are a danger to themselves or others.
These guidelines are laid out in O'Conner vs. Donaldson, U.S. Supreme Court, 1976.
A person being held against their will must be given a trial within a fixed amount of time to establish if either or both of the above conditions are true. The time restriction varies from state to state. In Missouri, it's 96 hours. In Illinois, it's 5 days. Her local chapter of the ACLU will be able to help you research this and many other things.
A person being held against their will still has full legal access to their attorney. Attempting to deny them an attorney is a serious crime. She should have been notified of this when she was checked in. Typically, it's printed on a form that is read to the patient at check in time. As with criminal cases, if she can't afford an attorney, one must be given to her.
Typcially, the state pays for patient's care. The hospital gets a payment for every night it keeps a bed occupied. It's in the hospital's financial interest to keep her there as long as possible. Also, they're afraid if they let her out and she then commits suicide, they could be sued out of business. That's the hospital's institutional motivation. Individuals within the hospitals will, of course, have their own systems of thought.
The hospital should have set visiting hours and phone hours. A polite call to the front desk asking for a schedule of these is an excellent first step. Her psychiatist/psychologist may forbid her contact with the outside world if he deems it appropriate, except that she may never be forbidden access to her arrorney. It is also extremely unusual to forbid family visiting permission, but can be legally done if the doctor deems it appropriate.
In my dealings with a medium-sleazy psychiatric hospital, I found the agents of the hospital frequently misrepresented my friend's rights to me, either wilfully or out of ignorance. In retrospect, I wish I had tape recorded every conversation, as there were some quotes that could have been very embarrassing to them.
So:
1) Find out her phone hours.
2) Find out the phone number of her state ACLU chapter and get in touch with them. See what resources they have available to you.
3) Find out who her attorney is. She should talk with him ASAP.
4) No matter how the hospital treats you: Always be polite. Never theaten. Never talk out of your ass.
All of this, of course, deals only with how to get her out of the hospital. You know better than I whether or not she actually needs help. Your own judgement is called for there.
30
BlackHive
Philadelphia, PA
January 2004
JUL 27, 2004 06:33 PM
Thanks for all the advice everyone. A lot of this thread has ACTUALLY helped the situation and, as of this afternoon, she is now out and doing better. They're keeping her drugged up on some nonsense medication which I can't stand and she has to visit a psychiatrist outside of the hospital but that's better than being locked up and drugged up. Thanks again everyone.
Dude...i'm sorry about the situation and i hope she gets better. The only thing you can really do i shope she figures things out for herself and can learn to live with and love herself. You can't "make" someone be better...just hope that they figure things out for themselves. It's such an impotent feeling but it's an inner struggle with that loved one and nothing you can really control. Just let them know you love them and are there to support them and hope that it's enough.
hoisin
United Kingdom
April 2004
JUL 25, 2004 04:16 AM