Capacity limit - Mental health facility in Brandenburg has been overcrowded for years
According to the state government, the facilities for the treatment of mentally ill patients in Brandenburg have been overcrowded for several years. This year, the average occupancy in closed and open accommodation was 15 percent above the planned capacity peak, according to an answer from the Ministry of Social Affairs to a minor question from the AfD parliamentary group in the Brandenburg state parliament. That is 310 occupied places. However, there are only 269 regular places available - meaning that the two institutions in Brandenburg (Havel) and Eberswalde are significantly overcrowded.
According to the ministry, the average occupancy rate has already exceeded the set capacity limits since 2021. That year, one of the state's three institutions for the treatment of mentally ill patients in Teupitz (Dahme-Spreewald) was closed.
Despite the overcrowding, "no offenders were released from the psychiatric hospital for capacity reasons", the ministry continued. However, there were longer waiting times for admission in individual cases. "In one case, it was only possible to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital after five months."
The occupancy situation is very tense in almost all federal states, the ministry explained. This is partly due to the fact that more and more cases of people with addictions or psychiatric disorders are being admitted to the prison system. Short-term admissions - without a waiting period - are also increasing.
According to the information provided, the state government now wants to take countermeasures by creating additional places at the two remaining facilities. According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, around 20 new places are to be added at the Eberswalde site in 2025.
Criminals are sent to the correctional facility if a court classifies them as psychiatrically conspicuous or addicted. In the case of longer prison sentences, the sentence can be split up. In this case, part of the sentence is served in prison, followed by a period in a correctional facility. There it is decided whether the convicted person must continue to serve the remainder of the sentence or is released after serving half of it.
Answer to minor question
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- Despite the closure of one mental health facility in Teupitz, the average occupancy rate in Brandenburg's remaining institutions, such as those in Eberswalde and Havel, has consistently exceeded the planned capacity limits since 2021, according to the state government's response to a minor question from the AfD parliamentary group.
- The overcrowding in these mental health facilities has resulted in longer waiting times for admission, with one patient having to wait for five months before being admitted.
- The Brandenburg state government aims to alleviate the overcrowding by adding around 20 new places at the Eberswalde facility by 2025.
- The justice system often deals with individuals deemed psychiatrically conspicuous or addicted by classifying them as criminals and sending them to correctional facilities.
- In cases of longer prison sentences, the sentence can be split, with part of it served in prison followed by a period in a correctional facility.
- The capacity limit of mental health facilities in Brandenburg is not only a concern for the state government but is also a pressing issue in many other federal states, partly due to more cases of people with addictions or psychiatric disorders entering the prison system.
Source: www.stern.de
