Reader Meet Author

Part of the job description for my position at the hospital reads, and I quote:

… willing to risk exposure to physical assault from patients and potential for injury…

In fact, I think that exact phrase is included in the job description for most, if not all, of the positions on our unit. I mean, let’s face it: when you deal with people who are mentally disturbed there is always the possibility of a loss of control. Heck, every time we venture out into public we’re putting ourselves at risk of physical assault from a stranger. It’s only exacerbated at the hospital.

Needless to say, we occasionally get scary folks brought to us. And there have been numerous instances of patients hurting staff members, both before my joining the team and since. We’ve got such a patient now. He’s been with us for two days and he’s assaulted two staff members and had to be restrained twice. Each time he’s been taken down he’s been heavily sedated afterwards… and quite cooperative and borderline nice. But when the sedatives wear off, he returns to his normal, abusive self. I mean… he spent years in prison for assault. He’s no virgin to violence. We spend all day on pins and needles waiting for his next attack.

He sent a nurse to the ER last night. And while that’s scary, it’s not half as scary as the response we got from the police when they were called to take him to jail.

Even though she was pressing charges against him, they refused to take him to jail. They said he was a “psych patient”, not a criminal. They claim that, since he is in a psychiatric hospital, he is out of their jurisdiction and that while he’s in our care they cannot take him to jail. Anyone he assaults is free to press charges against him. But they won’t take him to jail as long as he’s a patient in the hospital.

We were all shocked. The assistant unit manager, who was dealing with them, was infuriated. For one, the police are constantly bringing us people they pick up on the street for committing various criminal acts. We always accept their transfers. The police have never had us tell them that, since the person was arrested on the street, they were out of our jurisdiction. When one of their officers gets assaulted by someone with a mental illness we gladly take the assailant off of their hands to treat them. I guess the courtesy doesn’t extend both ways.

But what’s really irritating about the entire thing is that dealing with violent criminals is their job. This guy isn’t a psych patient. He’s a violent alcoholic who’s detoxing. We’re not a drug rehab center. And the message the police are sending is pretty clear: criminals can do anything they want to do if they’re “insane”. So basically, we’re stuck with a patient who’s attacked someone every day that he’s been in the hospital. Until he’s discharged we just have to deal with being victimized by this guy. We won’t keep him in the hospital. In fact, he’s on a fast track for discharge.

In other words, we’re being forced to send a violent man onto the streets so that he can hurt someone outside the hospital… all to satisfy police requirements that he hurt someone in public before he can be arrested.

To this guy’s future victim: I apologize. We tried to save you. But apparently your safety must be sacrificed for the greater good. We tried to prevent you from getting harmed. But the police don’t see it that way.

Hopefully that knowledge will make your ordeal a little easier to endure…