The way patients are treated in psychiatric hospitals is personal to us because the current practices are felt to be insufficient, and often, unnecessarily invasive. There is a strong call for more compassion, empathy, and a shift towards a care plan led by patients themselves. More specifically, there should be an emphasis on therapy-based treatments instead of automatic reliance on medication, particularly in the form of involuntary injections.

There is a clear need for additional calming sensory rooms designed to help people in severe distress and more psychologists to facilitate increased talking therapies. The World Health Organisation states that comprehensive, integrated, and responsive mental health services should be community-based and patient led. In 2013, WHO launched an extensive Mental Health Action Plan highlighting these principles. Unfortunately, many psychiatric hospitals continue to fall short of these standards.

According to a 2016 report by Human Rights Watch, people with mental health conditions in institutions are often held against their will, secluded, or restrained. Furthermore, they are frequently subjected to forced medication. These violate the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which asserts unequivocally that individuals with disabilities, including, mental disabilities, have the right to informed consent in medical treatment.

This situation should not continue; it is time for us to stand up and call for vital change within the psychiatric healthcare system. By signing this petition, you are lending your voice to countless individuals that are pleading for a more humane and empathetic approach to mental health care in psychiatric hospitals. Your support is instrumental in shifting towards a plan of treatment that is led by the patient and grounded on therapy-based interventions. Please sign this petition and promote reform in psychiatric hospitals.