On Tuesday morning, I look forward to testifying to the Health and Human Services Committee of the State Legislature. I am one of two people testifying on behalf of the Washington Defender Association about the unconscionable delays in getting a bed at Western State Hospital for people whose mental illness is so bad that they are incompetent to stand trial without treatment. Things are getting so bad now that from the time an evaluator determines that they are incompetent to the time a bed is found is about 3 months. During that time, the clients are often in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, allegedly for their own safety, so they have nothing to do except pay attention to their delusions and hallucinations. After that, they are hospitalized for 45 days before proceeding with their case. Very often, the total time they would have spent in jail had they not been sick would have been between 3 weeks and 3 months. There is a bill in front of the Senate that attempts to address the issue, but it has no teeth and highly inadequate funding. Some counties routinely hold the hospital in contempt of court for the long waits, but its not much help if they have no beds and too few psychiatrists, so its just a farce. -Margaret Brammall, public defender for the mentally ill, Washington State
Posted on: Sun, 18 Jan 2015 20:38:58 +0000