I read Rep. Andy Josephson’s recent commentary, “Alaska’s psychiatric care system is far from perfect, but we’re working to improve it.” The problem with that statement is no one is asking the patients if mental health care is getting better.
At this point, the legislators don’t know and can’t even guess how many people rotate in and out of locked psychiatric facilities or units each year for a forced evaluation or treatment. Or the number and type of patient complaints or injuries each year during treatment or transportation. And then there is the issue of the number and type of traumatic events — as an example, being strapped to a gurney, forceably medicated or being injured by a staff member or another patient.
Before there is an encompassing statement that psychiatric patient care is getting better, there has to be a conversation with patients and an examination of patient statistics. Providers of psychiatric patient care must be required to provide statistics to the Legislature and the general public.
— Faith J. Myers
Anchorage
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