Thome, Johannes and Coogan, Andrew and Simon, Frederick and Fischer, Matthias and Tucha, Oliver and Faltraco, Frank and Marazziti, Donatella and Butzer, Hermann (2020) The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the medico-legal and human rights of psychiatric patients. European Psychiatry, 63 (E50). ISSN 1778-3585

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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised significant concerns for population mental health and the effective provision of mental health services in the light of increased demands and barriers to service delivery [1]. Particular attention is being directed toward the possible neuropsychiatric sequelae of both COVID-19 and of the stringent societal mitigation steps deployed by national governments, concerns that are informed by historical increases in the incidence of psychotic disorders following influenza pandemics [2]. However, so far there has been scant attention paid to other important areas of psychiatry during COVID-19, including medico-legal aspects and human rights. In this paper, we discuss the legal implications for psychiatry of the COVID-19 pandemic and report a novel situation in which psychiatric patients may experience diminution of their statutory protections. We believe that this represents a paradigm shift in psychiatric care and that the consideration of the fundamental rights of psychiatric patients as “less important” than infection control measures compel mental health professionals to “advocate for … patients and their caregivers” in this time of crisis [1].

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Cite as: Thome, J., Coogan, A., Simon, F., Fischer, M., Tucha, O., Faltraco, F., . . . Butzer, H. (2020). The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the medico-legal and human rights of psychiatric patients. European Psychiatry, 63(1), E50. doi:10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.58
Keywords:	COVID-19; medico-legal rights; human rights; psychiatric patients; mental health services;
Academic Unit:	Assisting Living & Learning,ALL institute Faculty of Science and Engineering > Psychology Faculty of Science and Engineering > Research Institutes > Human Health Institute
Item ID:	15057
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.58
Depositing User:	Dr. Andrew Coogan
Date Deposited:	24 Nov 2021 16:22
Journal or Publication Title:	European Psychiatry
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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