As for the social worker, their personal files contained neither a bachelor's, master's/equal to master's or
doctoral degree in social work and nor a certificate of completion of the skills training required for a social
worker.
In the situation of the strong pharmacotherapy, patients in a depressing environment without psychosocial rehabilitation even have limited access to the fresh air. In all three facilities visited, patients were
not allowed to walk freely in the courtyard. The Center for Mental Health and Drug Prevention Ltd.
indicated the epidemiological situation as the reason, noting that letting the patients down in the yard
increased the risk of infection transmission. In an overcrowded facility where the beds are next to each
other, it is unclear why being in the fresh air should be more risky. However, the clinical practice
recommendation emphasizes the need to increase the length of time patients stay in the facility's yard.468
At the Tbilisi Mental Health Center Ltd, only a few patients close to the administration were allowed to
go out in the walking yard. According to patients, their going out depends on the good will of the staff.
There were patients in the facility who reported that they were not taken to the fresh air despite their
wishes. The situation is similar in Senaki Mental Health Center Ltd., where it depends on the director's
desire when patients are taken for a walk. However, in the absence of the director, the staff does not take
patients to the walking yard.
Challenges in terms of psycho-social rehabilitation most severely affect patients who do not require active
treatment but are unable to leave the facility due to the scarcity of community services and because they
have nowhere to go. Accordingly, the Special Preventive Group believes that in the short term, a
comprehensive study of the needs of such patients should be conducted in order to refer them to
outpatient services. As of September 16, 2020, 71 patients (24 men and 47 women) were in the facility at
the Tbilisi Mental Health Center Ltd. for more than 6 months, of which 5 patients had been hospitalized
for more than 1 year. The facility has patients who have been placed in a psychiatric hospital since 2008,
2014, 2015, 2016, 2017. At the Center for Mental Health and Drug Prevention Ltd., as of June 12, 2020,
there were 12 patients in the facility for more than 6 months, 5 of whom had been hospitalized for more
than 1 year. Among them are patients who had been in a psychiatric hospital since 2011.
In 2020, housing for 24 beneficiaries started operating under the auspices of the Batumi Medical Center
with the funding of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara. In
July 2020, a special penitentiary team made an emergency visit to the above residence. During the visit
of the special preventive group, the beneficiaries lived in a private house-type hotel on the outskirts of
Batumi.469 Interviews with beneficiaries and staff revealed that beneficiaries feel much better in the
housing than in a hospital, which the ombudsman welcomes. However, the only difference between a
468National
Recommendation for Clinical Practice - "Mental Health and Covid-19", para: 2.7. Available at:
https://bit.ly/3eH1yK6 [08.01.2021].
469 Since the opening of the housing (January 6, 2020), 24 beneficiaries have been accommodated in one of the hotels in
Gonio, where they stayed for 7 months. A special preventive group visited the hotel infrastructure in Gonio. It should be
noted that the hotel did not have an isolated walking yard and the beneficiaries did not have the opportunity to go out in
the fresh air independently, at will. Also, unlike the current residence, the Gonio Hotel did not create a sense of family
atmosphere.
135
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