Éva was told early last spring that she had to move out of the residential care home in the Hungarian town of Taktamákony. The staff at a home in Harmathegy told her they had a place for her, but she fell ill on the way there and was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. The hospital was overcrowded and she was admitted to the psychiatric ward.

Éva almost spent the rest of her life there.

This is a true story. Only names of people and places have been changed.

Éva was forbidden from leaving the psychiatric department of the hospital. She was allowed to attend Sunday Mass during the first month, but even this privilege was taken away by the second month. She insisted over and over that she was not a psychiatric patient and pleaded with the staff for her release. The residential home in Taktamákony had never detected a mental problem with her, nor had she been given a diagnosis of one upon arrival at the hospital.

All of the time she spent in special care facilities during her life, including homes for old people and the disabled, was not due to a mental disability, but her inability to overcome her difficult family background and social situation. She even had a husband and an apartment for a couple of years, but, after getting divorced, she moved into a home again. The staff was aware that she had never been hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital or taken medication for mental problems.

Until now.

Éva was given a diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder and slight dementia. She was given Rexetin, Setonin, Lamolep and Frontin, each to be taken daily. But aside from the pills, she was given no other support except for rare check-ups with doctors. After some time, the staff of the hospital tried unsuccessfully to find a room for her in a home. Éva’s medication continued and she was not allowed to leave the hospital. While this prevented her from becoming homeless, she suffered: now fully believing she was not suffering from any health problem, she felt she was being kept in the hospital for no reason. The attendants were also known for employing harsh treatment, occasionally tying patients to their beds.

HCLU gets involved

It was at this point that the phone rang at the legal assistance service of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union: Éva's friend Irma told us about her situation, that she should be taken out from the closed unit of the hospital where she's being held against her will on unjust grounds.

We called the hospital’s psychiatric department persistently for two days to get more information about Éva’s situation, but to no avail. Our fax went unanswered and the doctors had no email addresses. Then, on the third day, a breakthrough: we managed to reach Éva directly, she explained her situation and we were finally able to speak to hospital officials. Her release was soon secured, as long as her lawyer would come to get her.

Absurd final report

When we went to get Éva, we had a chance to meet with the doctor. According to his absurd final report, we had a possibly dangerous psychiatric patient with us, who used to hide a knife under her pillow. Nevertheless, the doctor told us he was aware that Éva was not supposed to stay at the hospital, as she did not actually have any psychiatric problems – which is why they had been trying to find her a place at a residential home, he said.

For the same reason, he did not wish to create any obstacles to her leaving. Yet he could do nothing before but keeping Éva here, waiting for a place to become available at some institution, which could take as long as three years. He did not seem particularly concerned by whether this violated her rights or not.

Getting back on her feet

The last thing we were given before leaving were prescriptions for the aforementioned pills. On the way to out, we told Éva we would stop at a pharmacy. Her reply surprised us: no need, as she’d been spitting the pills in the toilet the whole time.

We didn’t want to fully believe her, afraid that if she had been taking them, suddenly stopping could have terrible consequences. We monitored her for some time, calling her daily and checking in with Irma, but she showed no withdrawal symptoms.

Éva now lives in a big city; we managed to find her accommodation at a distant relative's home. She is trying to find a place in the social network: at a home for the elderly or the disabled, or a residential home, where she can maybe get a job and is not forced to take medication.