Patients' rights

The issue of introducing changes to the legislation on enforced psychiatric treatment is to be raised in the Federation Council, RBC reports.  Senator Oleg Panteleev made the proposal in an address to the plenary session of the chamber.

According to Senator Panteleev, based on figures from the Serbsky State Scientific Centre for Forensic Psychiatry, the number of murders, including of children, by people with various mental disorders has substantially increased the over the past year.

According to Article 13 of the Federal Law 'On psychiatric care and guarantees of citizens' rights', medical treatment shall be enforced by court order in relation to persons suffering from mental disorders who have committed acts that posed a danger to society, based on and in accordance with the Russian Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure.

"The law was adopted in 1992, when there was no Constitution, State Duma or Federation Council. At that time there was no Internet, computers, modern methods of communication or modern medicine. The law does not reflect the basics of emergency psychiatric care. As a result, patients themselves suffer, those around them suffer and society as a whole suffers," alleges the senator.

Federation Council speaker Valentina Matvienko has instructed the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy, with the participation of O. Panteleev, to "come up with a form of words for the question under discussion," writes RBC.