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City Cuts Psychiatric Beds – Taking the “Public” Out of Public Health
Friday, July 13, 2007 : This year’s budget process has taken the public out of public health. Both in terms of encouraging an open, public debate about how best to serve the health care needs of the people of San Francisco, and the harm that is being done to the public’s health. One case in point is Health Director Mitch Katz’ proposal to “save” $130,000 by shutting down 14 locked psychiatric beds at S.F.
General Hospital for the acutely mentally ill, and to transfer the funding to a community-based program to provide an alternative for people with mental illnesses before they need hospitalization. The program would be run by the Progress Foundation, which already provides a number of Acute Diversion Units (ADU) programs in the City.
This proposal comes in the context of a precipitous reduction in the number of acute psychiatric beds at San Francisco hospitals over the past few years, with the result that SFGH’s Psychiatric Emergency Service (PES) has been on diversion 30% of the time since December 2006. In October 2005, Sutter Health closed 40 locked psychiatric beds at St. Luke’s Hospital. Sutter has announced it will close 28 more psychiatric hospital beds in 2008.
When PES is on diversion, people who are put on a 5150 legal hold for being a danger to themselves or others are taken to any of the city’s medical emergency rooms – where they are treated alongside car accident victims and people who suffer from heart attacks and other medical emergencies. There is no specialty psychiatric care. Acutely mentally ill patients sometimes wait for days to get into PES or a hospital psychiatric unit. Read More
This proposal comes in the context of a precipitous reduction in the number of acute psychiatric beds at San Francisco hospitals over the past few years, with the result that SFGH’s Psychiatric Emergency Service (PES) has been on diversion 30% of the time since December 2006. In October 2005, Sutter Health closed 40 locked psychiatric beds at St. Luke’s Hospital. Sutter has announced it will close 28 more psychiatric hospital beds in 2008.
When PES is on diversion, people who are put on a 5150 legal hold for being a danger to themselves or others are taken to any of the city’s medical emergency rooms – where they are treated alongside car accident victims and people who suffer from heart attacks and other medical emergencies. There is no specialty psychiatric care. Acutely mentally ill patients sometimes wait for days to get into PES or a hospital psychiatric unit. Read More
For more information:
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?...
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Everyone should be concerned about the elimination of beds for the mentally ill in San Francisco.
The mentally ill need medical help and attention. The question to be asked which Kinchley seems
ignorant of is why he and the SEIU allowed the San Francisco Labor Council to give an
early endorsement of Newsom. If they really were concerned about this issue would they have
given the Mayor who is proposing these budget cuts an early endorsement. Is this business as
usual? The SEIU had the power to stop the SF Labor Council for making this endorsement but
SEIU votes or abstention allowed the council to help the same politician who is screwing them and
the mentally ill in San Francisco
The mentally ill need medical help and attention. The question to be asked which Kinchley seems
ignorant of is why he and the SEIU allowed the San Francisco Labor Council to give an
early endorsement of Newsom. If they really were concerned about this issue would they have
given the Mayor who is proposing these budget cuts an early endorsement. Is this business as
usual? The SEIU had the power to stop the SF Labor Council for making this endorsement but
SEIU votes or abstention allowed the council to help the same politician who is screwing them and
the mentally ill in San Francisco
$130,000 is like two nurses salaries.
Some people who require costly drug treatments for cancer or HIV, or who require emergency room treatment or surgery run up bills in the $10,000s each year. For instance, with a really simple broken bone, I went to SF General and they didn't even give me a cast, just an X-ray, and that was a $1300 bill.
At the same time, the impact on the community of just a few really undertreated people having episodes is tremendous. It keeps some people from leaving their homes or going to certain parts of the city.
Some people who require costly drug treatments for cancer or HIV, or who require emergency room treatment or surgery run up bills in the $10,000s each year. For instance, with a really simple broken bone, I went to SF General and they didn't even give me a cast, just an X-ray, and that was a $1300 bill.
At the same time, the impact on the community of just a few really undertreated people having episodes is tremendous. It keeps some people from leaving their homes or going to certain parts of the city.
not ALL issues are ''medical'' some have been force drugged. deadly poison for some. get out of this ''medicalizing'' of everything. its not always ''chemistry' for god sake,. thats so ''american''...drugs drugs drugs
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