Little Children

The investigation and prosecution of crimes perpetrated by the mentally ill is an excessively sensitive issue. As you will come to understand, legal systems throughout the world have struggled with the determination of one’s guilt in the face of a coexisting psychotic disorder. One controversial case recently tried in Texas is that of Andrea Yates, an American woman who drowned her five children while suffering from postpartum psychosis. In 2002, she was sentenced to life imprisonment for first degree murder. The jury at her second trial in 2006 found her to be not guilty by reason of insanity. Such a ruling remains an extremely rare one in most nations. In a 1991 study of eight U.S. states, the National Institute of Mental Health found that less than 1% of felony cases involved this mental disorder defense and only a fraction of those were successful.

In Kuwait, the man responsible for slaughtering his fourteen-year-old daughter in front of her siblings, after accusing her of no longer being a virgin, was found not guilty by reason of insanity (irresponsible for his actions). According to the Arab Times article, the man was subsequently referred (they likely meant committed) to the Psychological Medicine Hospital for treatment of schizophrenia (???). More recently, a man who attempted to poison eight of his children, successfully killing five, and then trying to commit suicide, was also found not guilty and was committed to the psychiatric facility until deemed fit for discharge.

The Health of Kuwait – A Wake up Call (Part III)

Many of you have noticed a number of newly refurbished departments in our hospitals. Their new design may be appealing in some ways but, in most instances, are not in-line with basic patient safety standards. It does not take a health care architect to tell you that slippery marble or granite flooring is hazardous, it is intuitive. When looking more closely at critical areas of a hospital such as emergency departments, where design can dramatically improve or, conversely impede, patient care, we notice that in most of our public facilities patient flow and access to life-saving equipment and medications are hindered by inappropriate architecture thereby defying their purpose. Despite being obvious even to the layperson, hospital administrators, departmental chairpersons and government officials seem to disregard major safety issues when addressing renovations or new constructions. It would only seem natural to involve experts in health care design when engaging in such activities. Furthermore, it is a well-established fact that ergonomics, cost-effectiveness and safety are not priorities when construction contracts are negotiated. Delegated contractors aim at maximizing their commissions by reducing the overall costs.