ANNUAL REPORTOF UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
140
In residential care facilities, the use of physical restraint (bed restraint and various other restraints) and
isolation against children (aged 6 to 18) and young people continues, in violation of the Standards of the
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(“Means of restraint in psychiatric establishments for adults” (CPT/Inf (2017)).
CHAPTER 7
Example
Children living in Dniprianskyi psychoneurological residential care facility in Kherson Oblast Council,
reported being punished for disorder and trying to escape by having their ankles tied to an iron bracket
nailed to the floor by a chain. Some of the children had marks on their ankles indicating that they had
been restrained in this way, and the floor bracket was visible. In addition, the monitoring group learned
that some patients helped to restrain other patients as requested by the staff65.
The situation is similar in residential health care facilities for persons with learning disabilities. The
practice of applying physical restraint and/or isolation without documenting this continues.
Violations were found in Rivne Oblast Centre for Mental Health66, Vinnytsia Oblast Psychoneurological
Hospital 267, Zhytomyr Oblast Psychiatric Hospital 268 and others.
No hospital has separate wards for use of physical restraint, meaning that patients are restrained in the
presence of other patients.
Monitoring visits revealed cases of bodily injuries inflicted by other patients; these injuries were not
documented in any way, and no relevant reports were sent to the police. It should be noted that when
a person staying in a medical institution receives bodily injuries and no measures are taken to establish
all the circumstances of these injuries, case law from the ECtHR indicates that this is a direct violation of
Article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
During the year, the Commissioner repeatedly provided recommendations to the Ministry of Health on
the need to develop a procedure for physical examination during hospitalization and stay in psychiatric
institutions, for interviews following injuries and documentation of injuries, as well as notification of the
relevant law enforcement agencies in accordance with the United Nations Guidelines on the Effective
Investigation and Documentation of Torture, and Other Cruel and Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
However, this recommendation has yet to be implemented.
65
Report published at: www.ombudsman.gov.ua/ua/all-news/pr/komfortn%D1%96-umovi-dlya-prozhivannya-p%D1%96dop%D1%96chnix-potri-brak-f%D1%96nansuvannya-rezultati-mon%D1%96toringovogo-v%D1%96zitu-do-dn%D1%96pryanskogo-psixonevrolog%D1%96chnogo-%D1%96nternat%D1%96-na-xersonshhin%D1%96/.
66
Report published at: www.ombudsman.gov.ua/ua/all-news/pr/11219-mo-u-rivnenskomu-oblasnomu-tsentri-psixichnogo-zdorovya-naselennya-zbudzh/.
67
Report published at: www.ombudsman.gov.ua/ua/all-news/pr/8219-ua-spivrobitniki-sekretariatu-upovnovazhenogo-vidvidali-z-monitoringovim/.
68
Report published at: www.ombudsman.gov.ua/ua/all-news/pr/mon%D1%96toringova-grupa-viyavila/.
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