The Federico Mora Hospital in Guatemala City Schizophrenic murderers wonder unguarded through courtyards to mingle with young children and women. A seventeen-year-old woman is raped while sedated. Men and women lay alone in their own feces for hours. Patients die of malnutrition, dehydration, and because they are given the wrong medication. Horror stories such as these are common in Latin American psychiatric hospitals, especially in one specific hospital: The Federico Mora Hospital in Guatemala City. The hospital is located in the heart of the city and was established in 1972 (WikiGuate). Although the country has a population of fourteen million, the Federico Mora Hospital is the only public psychiatric hospital in Guatemala (Disability
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Many journalists, healthcare professionals, and government officials have described the hospital’s conditions as inhumane. They suffer from malnutrition, dehydration, lack of hot water for bathing, little to no clothing, and little to no stimulation and supervision. Chris Rogers explains that many patients are too sedated to walk to the toilet, so there are puddles of urine on the mattresses and their clothing is covered in feces. He says, “The stench of human filth overwhelms me and I try desperately to stop myself from vomiting” (Rogers, 3). The DRI stated that there are not enough beds for all of the patients, so some sleep on mattresses on the ground while others sleep on the bed frame’s metal wires (DRI, 27). The patients drink water from faucets in the ground and constantly complain of hunger (DRI, 29). Furthermore, the main source of the human rights violations in the hospital is their use of isolation rooms. The isolation rooms are dimly lit, have sharp protrusions, have a single worn mattress inside, and have no toilet. Often times there up to six people in one two-meter by two-meter room without human contact of any kind. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan E. Méndez, constitutes this practice as torture in health care settings (Diana Damschroder). Also, the DRI reported that at least twenty people die in the hospital each year, which is six …show more content…
According to WHO’s profile of Guatemala, the Guatemalan government only gives 1.46% of its national health budget to mental health. 93.71% of the total mental health budget goes to fund the Federico Mora Hospital (WHO, 1). By using this community-based model, the Guatemala government would use the money sent to Federico Mora hospital to fund Family Health Care Facilities. Only the severe cases would need full time care in a government funded facilities, the 120 patients that now live in Federico Mora Hospital who actually need to be treated. After initial set up of the community-based facilities, this solution would not be more costly for either the Guatemalan government or the citizens, but would be both more effective and safer for the
Many journalists, healthcare professionals, and government officials have described the hospital’s conditions as inhumane. They suffer from malnutrition, dehydration, lack of hot water for bathing, little to no clothing, and little to no stimulation and supervision. Chris Rogers explains that many patients are too sedated to walk to the toilet, so there are puddles of urine on the mattresses and their clothing is covered in feces. He says, “The stench of human filth overwhelms me and I try desperately to stop myself from vomiting” (Rogers, 3). The DRI stated that there are not enough beds for all of the patients, so some sleep on mattresses on the ground while others sleep on the bed frame’s metal wires (DRI, 27). The patients drink water from faucets in the ground and constantly complain of hunger (DRI, 29). Furthermore, the main source of the human rights violations in the hospital is their use of isolation rooms. The isolation rooms are dimly lit, have sharp protrusions, have a single worn mattress inside, and have no toilet. Often times there up to six people in one two-meter by two-meter room without human contact of any kind. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan E. Méndez, constitutes this practice as torture in health care settings (Diana Damschroder). Also, the DRI reported that at least twenty people die in the hospital each year, which is six …show more content…
According to WHO’s profile of Guatemala, the Guatemalan government only gives 1.46% of its national health budget to mental health. 93.71% of the total mental health budget goes to fund the Federico Mora Hospital (WHO, 1). By using this community-based model, the Guatemala government would use the money sent to Federico Mora hospital to fund Family Health Care Facilities. Only the severe cases would need full time care in a government funded facilities, the 120 patients that now live in Federico Mora Hospital who actually need to be treated. After initial set up of the community-based facilities, this solution would not be more costly for either the Guatemalan government or the citizens, but would be both more effective and safer for the