Taser use in mental healthcare should be banned, according to an editorial on The Guardian website.
For more than 10 years, Tasers have been used against patients in locked psychiatric settings, with such practices going unmonitored or investigated by the Care Quality Commission or the Independent Police Complaints Commission, the public body responsible for handling complaints against the police.
The use of police weaponry against detained patients is part of a much bigger problem, the article said.
Part of the problem was blamed on an overburdened system. There were 617 emergency 999 calls by one London health trust in the past 12 months.
A home affairs select committee inquiry into policing and mental health highlights concerns about the over reliance on police resources to plug the care gap in psychiatric services.
Ambulatory Care Facilities Reshape FM Strategies
Intermountain Foundation Receives $150M Gift for Children's Hospital in Nevada
Texas HHSC Reaches Construction Milestone for Wichita Falls State Hospital
Preparing Healthcare Facilities for Wildfire Air Quality Events
UW Health Set to Open Expansion at East Madison Hospital