Caged beds - a hot potato in a cold summer
The long summer days in Prague are passing quite slowly. Most of the school children have left the city for summer camps, lots of families have moved southwards to the Mediterranean, where they hope to find sunnier weather. Prague inhabitants have been substituted by tourists. The old Czech government has formally resigned, and the time of waiting for the new one is filled with speculation of what it should look like.
The long summer days in Prague are passing quite slowly. Most of the school children have left the city for summer camps, lots of families have moved southwards to the Mediterranean, where they hope to find sunnier weather. Prague inhabitants have been substituted by tourists. The old Czech government has formally resigned, and the time of waiting for the new one is filled with speculation of what it should look like.
At this time, when all other hot discussions have calmed down, and the flow of news has been reduced to a trickle, in comes J.K. Rowling with her magic wand and suddenly everything seems to turn upside down. Her criticism of the use of caged beds in Czech psychiatric hospitals started a huge discussion of what is right and wrong.
Most of the psychiatrists, as well as the general public, supported the version claiming that caged beds are still a better alternative than strapping the patients or sedating them with heavy tranquilizers. On the other hand, quite a few experts admitted that this method is dehumanizing.
The public debate accelerated mainly after the swift reaction of the health minister who declared an immediate ban on all caged beds in Czech hospitals. His action has, nevertheless, annoyed president Vaclav Klaus who criticized it as a hasty and populist gesture.
As in every society, also in the Czech Republic public discussion on this kind of issue reflects a clash between the more liberal part of society and the - let's say - more conservative one. The defenders of the caged beds are often shocked by the efforts of the liberal critics to remove all barriers from our lives. They argue that this might be dangerous, as we do need certain rules and controls, pointing out that a little child also needs a cot with a handrail so it doesn't fall out and hurt itself. The liberals, however, refuse this kind of treatment on principle. They perceive this interference into human life as degrading and violating fundamental human rights.
The Czech Republic is not as backward and barbaric as it might seem from some reports about the caged bed issue. There are only around 20 caged beds and 100 net-covered beds in use in psychiatric wards around the country, and they are used only in special cases. However, the problem is much more general. The unsatisfactory situation in Czech psychiatric facilities is often explained by a lack of money. The shortage of medical personnel leads patients to feel neglected and isolated.
Perhaps this is a philosophy that in time will help to liberate psychiatric patients, and help to take them out of cages - both literal and metaphorical.
