As cases of human rights violations continue to rise, including deaths due to solitary confinement and coercion in mental hospitals, it was reported that the family of a patient recently diagnosed with paralysis due to a fall at the hospital filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission. The family also filed a complaint with the police, demanding that the hospital release the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage. This hospital, located in Chuncheon, is reportedly a mental hospital where an incident occurred in 2022 in which a patient died after being forced to stay in an isolation room for more than 200 hours.
The family of the victim, Mr. Jeong (63), said in a media interview that Mr. Jeong, who was admitted to this hospital on June 12 due to alcoholism, was admitted to the hospital after being discharged on the 25th of last month. He claimed that the 3rd and 4th cervical nerves were damaged and his limbs were paralyzed due to a head-on fall accident. The family said that Mr. Jeong, who had been restrained in a closed ward, appears to have fallen while trying to get up and down with a staff member who had restrained him on the day of the accident, and that they requested that he be hospitalized. to broadcast CCTV to prove it.
Mr Jeong's family said: "The hospital refuses to release the CCTV, saying the retention period is 4 days."
In the petition filed with the Human Rights Commission, they asked: "Did they receive proper care and treatment in the hospital from the time of their admission to the time of the fall? What was the reason for the fall? and find out," he said.
Previously, an incident occurred at this hospital in which a patient who was strapped to a bed in an isolation room for 251 hours and 50 minutes died.
Similar cases of isolation and obsession have been repeatedly revealed at other psychiatric hospitals. Representative examples include a case in November 2023 in which a person who was isolated and forced to share a room at a psychiatric hospital in Incheon died as a result of being assaulted by another patient, and a case in which a person died as a result of isolation and coercion 17 days after being admitted to a Bucheon hospital in May 2024. all.
With human rights violations common in psychiatric hospitals, the government has also announced plans to improve the system.
People's Power Party lawmaker Kim Ye-ji said in a work report of the health and welfare committee submitted to the National Assembly last July: "In psychiatric hospitals, not only are there isolation and coercion, but there are also illegal admissions and discharge procedures of patients, harsh treatment such as verbal abuse and assaults. "Many human rights violations occur, such as blocking communication with the outside world and insufficient medical care," he said, demanding active improvement measures from the government.
As a result, Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyu-hong announced that he would improve the system regarding human rights violations, such as the isolation and coercion of patients, as well as restrictions on communication and visitation.
Reporter Kim Ki-hwan kkh@segye.com
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