Organization What F-gip does History of the organization Board & Staff Fgip member organizations Activities Our Program Areas Publications News Support Contact The organization in brief Human Rights in Mental Health – FGIP is an international federation of not-for-profit organizations that promote humane, ethical and effective mental health care throughout the world. The organization aims to empower people and help build improved and sustainable services that are not dependent on continued external support. The defense of human rights in mental health care delivery is the cornerstone of our work. We consider it our prime obligation to speak out whenever and wherever human rights abuses in mental health practice occur, and work with local partners to amend the situation and make sure the human rights violations in question are discontinued. The basis in all our activities is partnership. Report on the Svyatoshinsky social care home in Kyiv published Assessment report on Svyatoshinsky psychoneurological internat On Friday April 13, 2018, the Federation Global Initiative on Psychiatry (FGIP) presented the report on the Svyatoshinsky social care home in Kyiv, Ukraine, during a press conference at the Ukrainian press agency Ukrinform. The report is the result of an assessment of the social care home in January of this year, carried out under the auspices of the Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights, by a team consisting of 14 experts from Ukraine and abroad. The team spent two days in the social care home, enough to get a good impression of daily life in this institution. Some of the conclusions are: many persons wound up in the institution for non-medical and rather social reasons, including having been dumped by relatives; once a person enters the institution there is virtually no possibility to ever getting out; days are filled with emptiness, and the little daytime activity provided is nothing more than a façade behind which lies a mountain of human misery; the institution has no therapeutic value, there is nothing social or healthy about it; and residents are silenced; they are not informed about their diagnosis, medication, financial situation; the term of their “internment” is without any limitation and in most cases for life. FGIP calls upon the Ukrainian government to carry out a full-scale investigation into the functioning of the institution and to start the process of reforming the system without delay. The English version of the report can be downloaded here The Ukrainian version of the report can be downloaded here EEEDN Eating disorder conference Kaunas Pay your EEEDN registration fee SEVERE AND ENDURING EATING DISORDERS AND CO-MORBIDITY The 2018 EEEDN Conference is the first bi-lingual international conference on eating disorders in the New Independent States featuring the top experts in the field from Finland, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom. All sessions will be simultaneously translated. The EEEDN 2018 Conference will be held in the Small Auditorium of the Vytautas Magnus University, Donelaicio 28, Kaunas. For more information see www.eeednconference.com To register for the EEEDN Conference please click HERE (https://app.uredison.com/edison/event/EEEDN/EEEDN/). After registering online and receiving an invoice, if you would like to make the registration payment by PayPal, please use the following form here: HERE YOU CAN PAY YOUR REGISTRATION FEE: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=8GLEG8DPC6K8S Latest news Report on privatization of psychiatric services in Georgia published More than twenty-five years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, much of the highly institutionalized and biologically oriented psychiatric service of the USSR is still in place, and resistance against the introduction of modern, community-based and user-oriented services remains very strong. Over the past decade Georgia has implemented a national mental health reform program that focused on the introduction of a humane and community based mental health system that meets basic standards of human rights. However, the full implementation of the program has not been realized. Of the newly developed services some were never fully operationalized and in other cases the process was halted or even reversed. Recently, privatization has been introduced in general health care as a format that would allow an influx of non-governmental capital, providing a new format that is targeted at upgrading services in mental health to an acceptable level. Hitherto the state program to privatize health care facilities in the country did not include its mental health hospitals. The sudden and rather unexpected privatization process that started with the privatization of the hospitals in Qutiri and Batumi was not part of any of the national mental health plans that were adopted in recent years. For that reason, FGIP felt the urgent need to assess the situation, understand the basis and format of the privatization process and see where modifications ought to be implemented in order to ensure the continuation of care and protect the rights of persons with mental illness seeking professional help from national mental health care services. Scope In our assessment, we wanted to scrutinize in detail the opportunities and risks of privatization, understand the key drivers and considerations of the private investor’s business case, assess the issue of sustainability and what mechanisms would ensure good governance of the privatized institutions. We were also very keen to establish the plans of managers and the owner to improve the quality of care and to ensure that the rights of the patients are respected. Conclusions The outcome is not wholly positive. It is unclear what the goals are for privatization and how this will contribute to the implementation of the National Concept on Mental Health and National Strategy. The privatization process seems rushed and was carried out without any consultation with stakeholders. There was no open call and no predefined qualifications or experience required of potential investors, and no uniformity in the format of the two privatizations. There is no certainty in terms of the long-term planning of services and their financial sustainability. The investor’s business case remains unclear. Recommendations Privatization must come with clear expected standards on the quality of care, patient safety and aspects of human rights. A State monitoring body of qualified officials must make regular inspections, both announced and unannounced and there must be regular external monitoring, e.g. through a Societal council and/or a patient’s council. None of this currently exists and must be introduced as quickly as possible. Particular attention must be paid to forensic mental health and compulsory treatment units. A monopoly on care should be avoided at all cost. In the case of forensic psychiatric care this implies that at least one other facility should be opened. Treatment and rehabilitation are not only matters of medication. Patients should be stimulated to participate in activities and need to prepared for a return into society. Much more attention should be directed towards the professional knowledge and skills of clinical personnel. Absolute transparency is necessary, both with regard to the framework within which privatized mental health institutions function and with regard to ownership, business plans and profits. All future privatizations should follow a process whereby potential bidders must demonstrate that they meet specific criteria to qualify for the tendering outline their business models and long term plans to develop services. Contracts must ensure that they operate a service that meets a full range of financial and clinical standards. Privatization contracts must also stipulate the obligations from the Government. All hospitals, both State owned and private, should have these performance figures monitored and treated in non-discriminatory manner. It is important to suspend the process of privatization until all the important preconditions and an adequate legal framework are in place. This should include a detailed list of requirements and specify sanctions that will follow in the case of non-compliance. Adequate governmental and non-governmental control mechanisms are essential, including the development of societal and patient councils and a mechanism for patients to submit complaints when they feel their rights have been violated. The English version of the report can be downloaded here The Georgian version of the report can be downloaded here Read more Support us, donate here Follow us on Facebook Latest news Organization Activities Publications News Support Contact Disclaimer Links © F-GIP