The practice of "forced hospitalization" is dictated in Articles 22 to 26 of the Act on Mental Health and Welfare for the Mentally Disabled, and consists of application, reporting, and registration steps (hereinafter referred to as the "reporting system"). Accordingly, in order to improve the practice of forced hospitalization, appropriate application of the reporting system is critical. Mental Health Welfare Centers specialize in providing mental health services as stipulated by the Act on Mental Health and Welfare. As long as the system of forced transportation, a system regulated by the existing Article 29-2-2, is effectively implemented with sufficient human resources, appropriate application of the reporting system is possible. Especially regarding reports made by police officers, which often present problems, it is important to enforce triage at the front gate, i.e., upon receiving the report, meetings to support transition to the community during hospitalization, outreach activities after discharge, and meetings of relevant parties that respectively bear responsibility. Based on my experience for over 10 years in Gunma prefecture, I believe that implementing the measures described above will clarify the responsibilities that law enforcement, administration, and medicine should respectively bear, and further improve the practice of forced hospitalization. At the moment, I assert that new laws or regulations are unnecessary.
<Author's abstract>
Sagamihara Mass Murder Incident: Establishing Shared Responsibilities among Medicine, Administration and Law Enforcement toward the Reform of "Forced Hospitalization"
1 Gunma Prefectural Psychiatric Medical Center
2 Gunma Mental Health Center
2 Gunma Mental Health Center
Psychiatria et Neurologia Japonica
120: 656-663, 2018
<Keywords:Act on Mental Health and Welfare for the Mentally Disabled, reporting system, report by police, forced transportation, Mental Health Welfare Centers>