Question

What are your thoughts on the article about the South Dakota hospital that has come under fire for refusing to admit would-be patients suffering from severe mental illness. Instead, hospital staff are directed to contact police to take such individuals to jail, even though they haven’t committed a crime

Answer 1

The Rapid regional city Hospital announced recently a major policy change regarding of people handling with mental (psychotic) disorders seeking hospital admission.

Under the new policy of South Dakota, the hospital will deny treatment to the most severely ill and instead contact the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office to take them into custody.

People with severe mental illness are being incarcerated (jail) for no reason other than the fact that they are sick. hospital justified the new policy, explaining that mental (psychotic) ill individuals may be frighten and disruptive other patients also. so the hospital must away turn them.

Unsurprisingly, the new policy has outrage sparked mental health advocate and law enforcement officials

“In my view, this is the biggest backward step our community has experienced in terms of health care for mental ill patients, said Rapid City police Chief Karl Jegeris. "

And though it’s legally permissible by statute to put someone in an incarceration setting, even though they haven’t committed crime.

"This is flawed fundamentally because using a criminal justice response for what should be a medical situation."

Disease like any other

Severe mental illness is a brain disease to any disease other that may require hospital for treatment. If a person suffering from diabetes or cancer went to the hospital for treatment and was not only sent away but sent to jail. It flies in the face of human decency, but this is what is happening with people suffering from mental (psychiatric) diseases who come to Rapid Regional city Hospital for help.

South Dakota law, a person can be detained 24 hrs by law enforcement even if they have not been charged with a crime.

“It’s horrible on so many different levels,” said psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Manlove who works for the Pennington County Jail, about the hospital’s policy change.It is stigmatizing highly to mentally disease people. That’s probably the severe least piece of it. It’s poor health care

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