Hi, I am conducting research on cases where discharged psychiatric patients from Hospital Kuala Lumpur commit a crime soon after release. Very often, they attack those who get them warded with police help. I work for NGO and has been getting a lot of complaint. I need to collect data for presentation to Health Ministry and help create preventative measures in future. I invite members of public to share their experiences.
Mental Health - 2 Answers
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1 :
In many ways this is true. Here is a typical story of Hospital Kuala Lumpur's level of psychiatric professionalism: http://www.indianmalaysian.com/sound/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=1870 While I cannot vouch for this story I have seen many cases ethnic Indian patients being allowed to leave and cause problems at home. The story by Salvi @ Selina is rampling but is typical of those who had to endure years of abuse from mental patients. I do not know this case personally but it is familiar with what others endure. Often, the psychiatrists at Hospital Kuala Lumpur treat the complaining side suspiciously even when the police provide supporting evidence, neighbours provide evidence, doctors provide evidence against the mental patient warded. In one particular case I noted, one person of authority even claimed that the abused party was probably the one who was mentally insane. This is shocking case of abuse of authority. Abusive mentally ill family members who are warded at HKL are often released soon to bruise and attack their families. From what I observe, ethnic Indians suffer the most. I am not talking about first-time case but repeat offenders with medical record. Even pleas and cries to get the patient admitted to Tampoi or Tanjung Rambutan for two weeks is ignored. Wives who need to shift homes need time to collect their belongings and make new accomodations with relatives or sympathizers are ignored. Time to get their children transfered to new schools. Instead, the husbands turn up early to abuse the family, take money, drink and cause disorder. According to HKL, this is not serious crime! When suffering family members appeal or make police report again, the HKL psychiatrists will insist on taking the mental patient to private nursing home on our own. They know many Indian community cannot afford it. The HKL psychiatric staff scare us with stories that even if the patient is released from Tanjung Rambutan, they will seek help from the police to track down relatives and force them to allow the discharged patient to stay with us because they have no way else to go. Should a battered wife take back her husband at a new residence? They think we Indians are stupid. I would suggest Indians who suffer from having mentally ill patients at their house to seek help from the MCA Bureau of Complaints. Michael Chong I think is still in charge and I used to work with him years ago. I am not sure if they have the same capacity to help these days. I am not sure about Pakatan Rakyat but I think they will take a deep interest in this matter. HKL claims that Tampoi and Tanjung Rambutan does not have legal jurisdicion to ward patients. They think we Indians are stupid. What is worse is that the staff at Hospital Kuala Lumpur Psychiatric Department take the mental patients word at face value and discharge them. No wonder the crime rate in the Indian community is still high. I think this is deliberate. This has been the case for the past 3 years.
2 :
How can HKL’s psychiatric department discharge a violently mental patient from its observation ward in two days? Unless our great Malaysian psychiatrists have discovered a wonder drug that works in hours, all psychotropic drugs take time to have its intended effect on patients. Furthermore, some symptoms may get worse in the first few days. Check the labels and information leaflets provided with prescribed drugs like Risperidal, Haloperidol, Ziprasidone etc. It takes weeks for any psychotropic medication to initiate the process of recovery. In fact, it takes weeks for many cardiac, gastric and ophthalmological The standard monitoring period for warded, violently-prone patients is 4 weeks in developed nations. Three weeks if the patient has shown sufficient levels of recovery. That too if the psychiatric unit is overwhelmed and has family/social support to administer drugs. Bolehland tries this in three days!!! No wonder discharged patients relapse into violence as soon as they get home. If this concerns a relapsing patient, then the monitoring period should be longer. IMHO, if this is the prevalent practice at HKL, then it should be slapped with a class-action lawsuit. The Malaysian government is trying to bring down the crime rate, and here a bunch of mentally-challenged, stethoscope-lugging clowns are doing their best to reverse the crime rate to status quo ante. I suppose this is how they justify the need for perks. If patients are given proper treatment, then there will greater recovery rates, lower (warded) patient turnovers and a happier society. However, surplus psychiatrists would be posted to rural areas. There is another option to this psychiatric conundrum; administering a daily ECG to themselves:-) Towards Vision 2020!!!!
