EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Mexican authorities say they have peacefully resolved a hostage situation at a state-run psychiatric hospital in Chihuahua City.
Late Sunday evening, about 30 patients at the Gonzalez Estavillo Psychiatric Hospital refused to return to quarters and prevented other patients and staff members from leaving. The office of State Deputy Rosana Diaz Reyes attributed the protest to “the terrible care mental patients receive in Chihuahua.”
Chihuahua state authorities arrived at the on Sunday night and persuaded the patients to release those they were preventing from leaving and to return to their rooms. There were no official reports of injuries or weapons being involved.
Diaz said relatives attributed the protest to the patients feeling neglected and living in “poor conditions” at the mental health center.
“In the last 10 years, the number of people with mental illnesses has more than tripled,” Diaz said in a statement on Monday. “We notice a growing indifference on how the state approaches mental health, prevention, early detection and care.”
Local news reports say staff from the State Commission for Human Rights visited the hospital just last week, allegedly to investigate patient complaints.
Diaz introduced a bill in the Chihuahua Legislature last year calling for the hiring of more mental care staff and an adequate supply of medication at all state-run psychiatric facilities. She is waiting for state government to endorse the legislation or procure more staff, supplies and improve the facilities itself.
(ProVideo contributed to this report from Chihuahua, Mexico.)
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