The Ministry of Social Development (Mides) sent this Friday to Parliament the bill that regulates the hospitalization of homeless people “at risk of serious illness or even death” in a shelter or “other places where they can be properly assisted”, without their consentaccording to what is read in the project, according to El País.
The minister of the portfolio, Martín Lema, explained at a press conference that the State’s obligation to act in cases of this severity has existed since 2011, but it was only regulated during this period, which according to Lema has allowed “saving lives.” The minister refers to the “Winter Plan”, which in 2021 had compulsory hospitalization as a tool to hospitalize people who did not want to be assisted in situations of extreme cold and who, therefore, put their lives at risk.
According to a Mides survey, of the people who do not have a home, 28% live on the street and 72% sleep in shelters. Of those who sleep outdoors, 86% declared consuming psychoactive substances.
The 2011 law already established the presence of a doctor to verify the patient’s conditionand in this project the minister maintained that joins a psychiatristwhich must prove whether the person living on the street He has “consumption problems” of psychoactive substances or mental health, which imply a risk, he explained.
“The request for hospitalization by Mides is for people who, being in a situation of extreme vulnerability, present an episode of acute intoxication due to the consumption of psychoactive substances and/or a decompensation of their psychiatric pathology, which represent a high risk for themselves. or for third parties”, says the explanatory statement of the text.
Faced with a case of this type, the project maintains that the authorities may request the hospitalization of the person without their consentYes “his judgment is impaired” for substance use or psychiatric.
Lema indicated that the problem of addictions it is difficult even for people with a “family support network”for which he stressed that it is much more difficult for people who are exposed to the elements, and questioned whether it is not “fair” for the State to serve these people.
Regarding its application, the hierarch maintained that it is possible that a quota will be established in the addiction centers of the State. Furthermore, he stated that they plan to build three addiction treatment centerstwo with ASSE and one with the National Drug Board, although in this case it would be “more voluntary,” Lema clarified.
