The case of the young woman admitted to the Clinical Psychiatric Hospital of Codru town, whose mother posted photos of bruises on the woman’s body on the Internet, arouses new concerns as to the situation of patients in psychiatric hospitals and reveals a number of system problems.

In a news conference at IPN, the woman’s mother Irina Rotari related that she found her daughter with bruises on her body on September 16. The next day she went and took pictures of the bruises and two female patients told her that employees of the hospital beat her daughter. “The doctors explained that the bed is small and she hits her legs herself,” said the woman.

Alexandru Cebanas, lawyer at the Human Rights Institute of Moldova (IDOM), said that three representatives of theirs went to the hospital on September 20 to verify the disseminated information. At the place, they ascertained that the woman had ecchymosis and bruises all over the body. The same day, the young woman was taken by an ambulance to the Legal Examination Center for having her injuries recorded. Initially, an examination was refused for the reason that only the victims of rape or detainees can ask for such examinations. However, an examination was performed the next day and its results will be made public on September 25.

The young woman’s mother asked to be allowed to remain near her daughter in the hospital, but her request was rejected. “There is a system error here. The law on the rights of patients does not envision restrictions in emergencies and the presence of a family member is necessary in such a situation,” stated Alexandru Cebanas.

A problem noted by the representatives of IDOM is the fact that a medical examination can be performed only by a state institution and there is no alternative. The hospitalized persons cannot complain about experienced things and this is another problem. The patients cannot submit a complaint without going through particular filters. In institutions of such a type, there is no mailbox or an independent unit that would collect these complaints. Experts consider surveillance cameras should be set up in psychiatrist institutions to protect the patients to a certain extent at least.

According to coordinator of the IDOM Monitoring and Reporting Program Dumitru Russu, a criminal case was started over this incident. If the medical examination shows the woman was ill-treated, those to blame will be held accountable in accordance with the law.