Psychiatric hospitals are meant to be there to help those in need. While they may keep you in a safe environment, they do not always give well-deserved treatment. Psychiatric hospitals or mental hospitals are in-patient hospitals that will keep you there overnight for 3 days (also known as a 51/50) or more. Psychiatric hospitals are there to help those in need, but at what point is it helping and at what point is it doing more harm than good.
First issue that most mental hospitals face is clothing. You will be placed in paper scrubs or if you are lucky you can borrow clothing from the facility. You may also bring your own clothes. So, what’s the problem? One of the main issues is if you don’t have clothes you are expected to stay in paper scrubs. They are baggy, uncomfortable, easily ripped and embarrassing. Being treated like a prisoner is not how someone who is there to receive help should be treated. A simple solution to this issue could be simply asking people to donate old or unused clothing to aid those who need it.
Another big issue is when you bring your own clothes, the hospital has to do it for you. Which is not a big deal until they come back the next day saying they lost your clothes. This poor management leads to patients not wanting to stay hygienic with their clothing. This leads back to the cycle of sitting in paper clothing.
Another big issue of mental hospitals is how some patients are treated by staff. One review stated, regarding Adventis Health Vallejo, “Regarding my stay there, it didn’t help, and the staff was horrible. If anything, Adventist Health made my condition[s] worse. I also had items stolen from my person at this facility. This place should be shut down.”
Reviews like these are not uncommon and are seen throughout many psychiatric hospitals. Why are staff members who are not trained properly or ready to deal with people in need of help working at a mental health hospital? This is not okay and needs to be changed. Proper staff training or better background checks are needed. Currently, staff need close to no training. Employees just have to have a highschool diploma and a few days of on-site training, then they are thrown onto the staffing floor.
Psychiatric hospitals also have an issue with food. Many food items are disgusting. When at a psychiatric facility, they will give poor quality food and expect patients to eat it with no complaints. However, if someone does complain or refuse to eat the food given, punishments will ensue.
Patients are also only allowed the same amount of food as the person next to them, which is unfair because everyone has a different nutritional need. Being served a brick of scrambled eggs with applesauce for breakfast and a burger/veggie burger for dinner with zero condiments or toppings is considered normal. It’s even worse than school food because there are no options!
Mental hospitals need to change for the better in order to keep people sane and safe without causing additional trauma. Staff needs to be trained better, food needs to be edible, and clothing should be available for everyone. These should not be issues that patients who have either reached out for help or have been forced to get help should have.
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