Monitoring visit to the Center for Psychological Rehabilitation and Treatment for ATO participants

On February 10, 2015, a monitoring visit of representatives of the Ukrainian Ombudsman to the Chernihiv Regional Psychoneurological Hospital took place.

Due to military operations in Eastern Ukraine, there was a need to create centers for high-quality psychological assistance to servicemen who returned from the ATO zone. Specialists assure that physical injuries are treated much easier than psychological trauma. That is why it is urgent to create regional centers for psychological rehabilitation and treatment of ATO participants.

The Chernihiv Regional Psychoneurological Hospital is one of the few in Ukraine that has a practice of rehabilitation and treatment for ATO participants. It is important to supplement psychological assistance with legal assistance. The capacity of the facility allows for the reception of evacuees from territories affected by armed conflict.

This conclusion was made by representatives of the monitoring visit – Alla Lepekha (Regional Coordinator for Public Relations of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights in Chernihiv Oblast) and Serhiy Burov (Head of the NGO “MART”). The short-term visit was devoted exclusively to monitoring the departments of the Chernihiv Oblast Psychoneurological Hospital, where ATO participants are located.

Since its opening on September 30, 2014, the Center for Psychological Rehabilitation and Treatment for ATO Participants has provided assistance to 146 ATO participants and 167 mobilized individuals. As of February 10, 2015, 38 ATO participants and 14 mobilized individuals are located in three departments of the hospital within the framework of the Center’s work. Servicemen who are sent to the Center by a military hospital, military units, psychiatrists of the region’s districts, psychoneurological and narcological dispensaries, undergo treatment and receive specialized psychological assistance.

According to the head doctor, in a large number of cases, servicemen end up at the Center while on leave. During combat service, the action of adrenaline allows them to “jump over” various illnesses, but at home, many health problems suddenly make themselves felt. First of all, ATO participants seek help with a diagnosis of “post-traumatic stress disorder.” The average duration of ATO participants’ stay at the Center is 36 bed-days.

The results of the visit showed that the conditions of stay, treatment and rehabilitation of ATO participants in departments No. 15, 17 and 7 of the Chernihiv Regional Psychiatric Hospital are good. They are not limited in their ability to communicate with their relatives and friends. Volunteer groups, representatives of religious communities, and political figures constantly help the Center’s patients.

At the same time, the members of the monitoring visit see some problems, which are mainly related to the status of the activities of such Centers and the consequences that may be likely for ATO participants who undergo treatment and rehabilitation in them.

Thus, at present, the procedure for the functioning and activities of the Center for Psychological Rehabilitation and Treatment is not legally regulated (there are no regulatory documents). Also, the issues of the hospitalization, treatment, and discharge process are not legally regulated.

According to clause 260 of the Statute of the Internal Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

“in the event of referral for treatment outside the location of the unit, servicemen must… have a referral signed by the commander of the military unit”

. But in practice, there are cases when servicemen apply to the Center without appropriate referrals. Accordingly, the military unit lacks information about the legal grounds for the absence of a serviceman in the location of the military unit, which may entail the application of the military unit commander to the military prosecutor’s office to initiate criminal proceedings under Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorized abandonment of a military unit or place of service).

As can be seen from the name of the Center, the purpose of its creation is the psychological rehabilitation and treatment of ATO participants. At the same time, the placement of this Center in a psychoneurological hospital may create negative consequences for the further life of persons who underwent rehabilitation and treatment there. The procedure for hospitalization at the Center for Psychological Rehabilitation and Treatment for ATO participants is carried out on the basis of the norms of the Law of Ukraine “On Psychiatric Care”.

In the future, persons who have undergone treatment in this medical institution may encounter problems related to the placement of persons who have undergone psychological rehabilitation on dispensary or consultative registration in a psychoneurological dispensary. For example, restrictions on the choice of profession, problems with obtaining a certificate from a psychiatrist for issuing a driver’s license, etc.