[JMIR]

Hello, my firiend self admits himself to the hospital, is consumed by paranoia. The inpatient new physician tell us that unless the patient gives him permission to discuss his care, then he will tell family nothing!!!

The psych patient to give permission, that is so stupid it is funny!

My friend says he wants to get out, the family is not ready, not prepared and my friend is not either, but physician is NO help!!!!

Physician basically says, ok, unless you are going to hurt yourself or someone else, then he gets out! No plan of care, NOTHING!!!

Can the family do anything to keep him in? It is horrible!!

I have been in the hospital and have seen this happen. It's sad, when someone who is sick gets out simply because they're not suicidal or homicidal. There is still the fact that they need help, but they often let these types of patients out in order to make room for future patients who are suicidal/homicidal.

What bothers me is the lack of outpatient care given to them. Your friend definitely sounds like they need outpatient help, but is not getting any. This, to me, is wrong.

I don't think the family can do anything to keep him in, unless it's proven that your friend can't make proper judgements for himself, or he becomes a harm to himself or others.

I hope your friend gets the help he deserves.

[JMIR]

Thank you, the care he is getting from this new physician is basic at best. Being in the hospital is God sent, but we know nothing about the meds, nothing about plan of care, this physician will not say anything, unless, the paranoid psych patient gives him permission! It is a tragedy!

Originally Posted by melissa.recovering

I have been in the hospital and have seen this happen. It's sad, when someone who is sick gets out simply because they're not suicidal or homicidal. There is still the fact that they need help, but they often let these types of patients out in order to make room for future patients who are suicidal/homicidal.

What bothers me is the lack of outpatient care given to them. Your friend definitely sounds like they need outpatient help, but is not getting any. This, to me, is wrong.

I don't think the family can do anything to keep him in, unless it's proven that your friend can't make proper judgements for himself, or he becomes a harm to himself or others.

I hope your friend gets the help he deserves.

[sabby]

Sometimes, unfortunately because of legalities, this happens more than one would like it to happen.

Regardless of whether or not your friend is paranoid, he/she has a right to make his/her own decisions regarding their care. That is a legal right, and unless someone goes to court and proves to a judge that this individual is beyond being able to care for themselves in the basic of ways, there is nothing more that the doctor can do for them, providing they are not going to injure themselves or another.

Going to court to take away an individuals rights is a very difficult thing to do. Judges do not easily take rights away from people. Unfortunately, this friend of yours may go through some more difficulties before this doctor has a sound clue as to what their issues are. Lord knows it's hard on the family and friends......I will keep you all in my prayers and send healing thoughts.

[Yoda]

Even though HIPAA prevents the doctor from giving information about the patient to the family it does not prevent the family from giving information to the doctor. He cannot say how he will or will not use that information in treatment though.

If the family has information that they think the doctor does not know they may consider this. Things like having heard the person making verbal threats to hurt himself or others.

[little*rhino]

when i was still married to my now exhusband the hospital wouldn't tell ME anything. I was calling the hospitals looking for him and they wouldn't tell me if he had come in there or not. He had left me a message that was just short of "a note" and i had to wait two days to find out if he was even alive.

If we could band together...and lobby for fully humane therapeutic environments....rehabilitation......and stop leaving them in bondage or homeless(politically speaking).....what laws we could pass!As it stands...the people who love these individuals stricken with this disease,as well as other mental health diseases....are pushed up against a wall and told to take it...told legally you have no right to expect humane conditions or basic requirements of human contact or natures beauty....a huge percentage of these are homeless and most others live in the streets and gutters unable to know better.It is an atrocity!And prison is the new mental hospital for the gravely disabled psychiatric community.
I write this in my warm safe house, in retention of my sanity and everything a human could hope for yet unable to assist or visit in any way a 20 year old terrified boy.I am ashamed to be a human.

[Rhiannonsmoon]

There was a woman here who was "released" from hospital, she had a care plan...medication...Next day she went into a shop bought a knife for $50 walked out of the shop and killed the first person she saw a grandmother walking her dogs. But she was released as non-threatening. The sad truth is that some paranoids end up hurting someone and an innocent life can be lost because of it. Something needs to be done and this needs to be brought to the attention of the public so that the patient doesn't suffer and so that others don't either

I really wish you well with this

[lorna]

I hope your friend now that they are out gets some care outpatient. I hope that things improve for them. The system is flawed, its not designed to make one better, rather more of an assembly line approach.