Clinic and Policlinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
Department of Psychology, Maynooth University, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Ireland.
Eur Psychiatry. 2020 May 29;63(1):e50. doi: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.58.
The COVID-19 pandemic has raised significant concerns for population mental health and the effective provision of mental health services in the light of increased demands and barriers to service delivery [1]. Particular attention is being directed toward the possible neuropsychiatric sequelae of both COVID-19 and of the stringent societal mitigation steps deployed by national governments, concerns that are informed by historical increases in the incidence of psychotic disorders following influenza pandemics [2]. However, so far there has been scant attention paid to other important areas of psychiatry during COVID-19, including medico-legal aspects and human rights. In this paper, we discuss the legal implications for psychiatry of the COVID-19 pandemic and report a novel situation in which psychiatric patients may experience diminution of their statutory protections. We believe that this represents a paradigm shift in psychiatric care and that the consideration of the fundamental rights of psychiatric patients as "less important" than infection control measures compel mental health professionals to "advocate for … patients and their caregivers" in this time of crisis [1].
新冠疫情大流行引起了人们对公众心理健康的极大关注，并且由于服务提供方面的需求增加和障碍，有效的心理健康服务也受到了影响[1]。人们特别关注 COVID-19 以及各国政府部署的严格社会缓解措施可能带来的神经精神后果，这种担忧是基于流感大流行后精神病发病率增加的历史情况得出的[2]。然而，到目前为止，人们对 COVID-19 期间其他重要的精神病学领域关注甚少，包括医学法律方面和人权问题。在本文中，我们讨论了 COVID-19 大流行对精神病学的法律影响，并报告了一种新情况，即精神病患者的法定保护可能会减少。我们认为，这代表了精神病护理的范式转变，将精神病患者的基本权利视为“不如感染控制措施重要”，迫使精神卫生专业人员在这场危机中“为……患者及其护理人员发声”[1]。
