Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-12-17-Speech-3-233"
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"en.20031217.8.3-233"2
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".
May I on this question too make a brief political preliminary remark? I am sometimes slightly surprised that the Commission is asked questions that give the impression that we are responsible for all possible circumstances in the future Member States, as though we had powers in areas where there is definitely no Community competence.
We are dealing here with a question where we do not even know what the situation is in the Member States. All the same, we have been able to do something, because the Copenhagen criteria do apply for the future Member States and the Copenhagen criteria help us to take action in such matters. But then we must always treat them as human rights matters. I had to say that first.
So far as the problem of caged beds is concerned, which you raise in your question, the
an international organisation for the promotion and protection of the rights of people with mental disabilities, presented a report to the European Parliament on 17 June. You know that, of course. That report points out that caged beds are still used to restrain people with mental disabilities in four accession countries, namely the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia. On the strength of that report’s findings, the Commission immediately contacted the countries concerned in order to investigate the present situation precisely and called on the authorities of the countries concerned to inform the Commission of the existing circumstances.
The Commission then received the information requested and it appears that the situation has already improved by comparison with the report simply as a result of the Commission’s enquiry. The Slovenian authorities informed us that caged beds are no longer used in Slovenia. In Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary they are still used in a very few exceptional cases and strict guidelines must be followed. The countries concerned have however conceded that efforts to introduce more modern methods of psychiatric care may for the present be hampered by insufficient staff resources.
The Commission has information that the Slovak Government has taken relevant measures and is at present working on a plan to phase out caged beds. The Czech Government has assured the Commission that it is investigating the matter in detail in order to provide us with more precise information about the occasional use of caged beds. In Hungary the number of caged beds has already fallen steadily. The very few establishments where such beds are used are regularly monitored and ways are being sought that will allow these terrible beds to be abolished.
If I may make a brief assessment, I think we are faced here with a phenomenon that gives us a glimpse into the sometimes horrifying past of psychiatry and that we really must be shocked at what we see. I am sure we all agree that such methods have no place in modern psychiatry. The Commission will therefore be using every means at its disposal to pursue this matter further and we shall not cease until the last caged bed has vanished from each of these countries."@en1
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"Mental Disability Advocacy Center,"1
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