| John Hunt | |
|---|---|
John Hunt and Gráinne Humphrys |
|
| Born | July 16, 1981 Greystones, Wicklow, Ireland |
| Residence | Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, Dublin (National Forensic Mental Health Service). |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Occupation | Writer and artist |
| Known for | Involuntary psychiatric patient |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | |
| http://freejohn-loverevolutionary.blogspot.com/ | |
John Hunt (born July 16, 1981), an Irish citizen, is a writer, artist and an involuntarily detained psychiatric patient. The conditions of Hunt's detention have been the subject of a sustained campaign by his former partner and mother of his child Gráinne Humphrys. He was committed as an involuntary psychiatric patient in 2005 and was detained at a secure psychiatric unit in Cork until August 2011 when he was transferred to the Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, Dublin. Until 2010 he was not granted leave for any temporary release from the Cork facility to visit his family. As a result of the campaign of his former partner that year the Cork hospital allowed Hunt six hours unsupervised leave every two weeks. However, following a violent altercation with a psychiatric nurse this leave was rescinded and Hunt was transferred to the main Irish forensic psychiatric unit in Dundrum.
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At the time of Hunt's birth, his family lived in the small, coastal town of Greystones in Wicklow, Ireland. His father was a violent alcoholic and his mother had few supports in raising her children.[1] His four year old brother drowned when he was eleven years old.[1] Thereafter, Hunt began getting into fights and taking drugs.[1] Humphry's attributes these behaviours to his history of trauma and low self-esteem.[1] His first breakdown occurred shortly after the end of his relationship with his first long-term girlfriend.[1]
Humphrys has observed in relation to Hunt's history that, 'trauma and loss, amongst other factors, form the bedrock of John’s problems — his so-called attachment disorder and paranoid schizophrenia.'[1]
John Hunt is an artist and writer and a resident of Cork, Ireland.[2] In 2005 he experienced a breakdown[3] while his then partner, Gráinne Humphrys, was pregnant with their child, Joshua. Frightened for his safety, Hunt's mother, Marion Hunt, instigated committal proceedings against her son.[2] As he was deemed a danger to himself,[4] this led to his involuntary committal at the Carrig Mór Centre, a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in Shanakiel, Cork.[5] Subsequent to his admission, he received a variety of diagnoses including drug-induced psychosis, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.[6] He remained an involuntary in-patient of this facility until August 2011 under the legal provisions of the Mental Health Act 2001 when he was transferred to the Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum.
The Carraig Mór Centre is a two-storey building that was formerly part of the now defunct Our Lady's Hospital (Cork District Mental Hospital).[7] It has a small, gated, overgrown garden to its rear[6] and is situated adjacent to a golf course. The first floor, containing twenty-one beds, is occupied by long-stay patients who were transferred from the old mental hospital. These patients, ranging in age from thirty to seventy-eight years, were in 2010 all voluntary patients. No patient has been admitted to this ward since the early 1990s.[7]
The ground floor, where Hunt was detained, is a secure psychiatric unit under the management of a forensic psychiatric team.[8] It has eighteen beds. The people resident there are all involuntary patients and are deemed to have behavioural difficulties arising from their mental condition.[7] The use of benzodiazepines has been recorded as high in this unit, polypharmacy is common and a significant number of patients are on high dose antipsychotic medicine.[9] The unit lacks a clinical psychologist and, according to a 2010 report on the facility by the Inspector of Mental Health Services, 'This was a serious defect in a forensic service and a psychiatric intensive care unit'.[1][10] The inspectorate also stated in relation to this matter that, 'The decision by the Health Service Executive not to have a psychologist on a forensic team and in a PICU where behavioural problems are common is incomprehensible and short sighted and not in keeping with best practice'.[1][11] While noting that the staff of the facility did their best to provide rehabilitation services, the inspectorate was critical of the absence of 'a step-down unit and adequate rehabilitation' for patients'.[1][11] 'It was obvious',[11] noted the inspectorate, that these deficiencies resulted in residents 'staying longer in Carraig Mór than was necessary'.[1][7][12]
PICUs are intended as short stay, secure units for patients with disturbed behaviour during acute phases of illness.[13] Conversely, the guidelines issued by the UK's Department of Health state that the appropriate therapeutic setting for patients experiencing chronic behavioural disturbance is a low secure unit.[14][15]
In July 2011, the Junior Minister with responsibility for Mental Health and Labour Party T.D., Kathleen Lynch, announced that the Carraig Mór Centre would eventually be shut down. She stated that this would be in compliance with government mental health policy as outlined in the 2006 policy paper, A Vision for Change, which foresees the closure of all large psychiatric in-patient facilities. However, she conceded that there were "no plans as of yet" for the centre's closure but added that "that's not to say that there won’t be".[16]
Since his committal Hunt has been forcibly medicated with a diverse range of psychoactive drugs including the typical antipsychotics Clopixol and Largactil, the atypical antipsychotic Solian, benzodiazepines and sleeping tablets.[17][18] The use of liquid Largactil has contributed to the decay of his teeth.[17] Humphrys, describing the effects of the medication, has stated that, 'Sometimes he is yellow in the face from all the meds and he is now incontinent. He's completely over-medicated'.[2] This medical regime led to a serious decline in his physical health and it is reported that both his kidneys and liver have been affected.[6][19] Former Green Party Senator, Dan Boyle, visited Hunt at the Carraig Mór facility in the summer of 2010. Senator Boyle acknowledged that he was 'physically cared for' but expressed concern 'about the overriding culture of excessive medication there'.[5] He also noted that Hunt 'was only allowed minimum contact with the outside world' and that he did not have access to a rehabilitation programme.[5]
Humphrys argues that Hunt's treatment at the facility damaged him mentally and physically and she has characterised the mental health system as punitive and fostering dependency in patients.[20] She has also alleged that her former partner suffered in the facility as he has been perceived as non-compliant.[20]
The hospital authorities at Carraig Mór considered Hunt a 'chronic' patient[4] and 'suitable' for long-term hospitalisation.[6] His prolonged psychiatric detention has been against the express wishes of his family.[2] Up to the summer of 2010 he had not been allowed outside of the Cork psychiatric centre since his attendance at his son's christening four years previously.[2]
Three days after Senator Boyle's visit to Hunt he called for a debate in the Seanad on 'the culture of mental health and psychiatric care services' in Ireland.[21] In his address Senator Boyle referred to his visit to the Cork psychiatric hospital and the fact that Hunt had only seen his son outside of that institution once in the previous four years. He also referred to a twenty-six year old female patient that he had met on the same visit. She had, he said, been in detention for five years ("and I will define it as detention")[22] and, he continued, 'One of the reasons for her continued detention is some person medically defined her as being in danger of becoming promiscuous if she ever lived in the outside world'.[21]
Family visits at Carraig Mór were carried out in a small room at the facility that has been described as "cramped" and "uninviting".[1][2][6] The room was constantly by a closed circuit television system and often other families were present during their visits. Referring to these conditions in interviews conducted in 2010 Humphrys stated that, "We have been forced to have our family relationship in this small room for four years now".[2] She also said that, “The room has surveillance cameras all around it and there is no such thing as privacy there. You often find you are stuck in the same room as other families trying to visit their loved ones. It’s heartbreaking for Josh who really pines for his father and all John wants is the chance to get his life back in shape in normal surroundings.”[4]
In 2007 Humphry's mounted a campaign seeking to free Hunt from 'from his chemical straitjacket' and to challenge coercive practices and forced treatment in psychiatry.[5] She advanced the campaign through new and traditional media [23] and established an online petition in support of her cause.[5] In 2010, following the campaign's expanded media presence and Senator Boyle's visit to Carraig Mór, Hunt was granted day release without supervision.[20] Hunt was allowed a six hour pass every two weeks and, according to Humphrys, this reconnection with the world outside of the secure psychiatric hospital gave him 'new hope for his future'.[17]
Reflecting on Hunt's experience of the mental health system as a patient and her own as the partner and advocate of a psychiatric patient, Humphrys wrote to the medical authorities of the Carraig Mór Centre in early 2011 outlining her grievances.[1]
I am unhappy that John has spent five years in Carraig Mór, but I know it is a complex situation. I do take on board that your lack of a step-down hostel and a psychologist greatly impacts on your ability to rehabilitate John. (...) I am upset that John has been over-medicated for such a long time. I am worried about his internal organs, in particular his kidneys. I am also worried that he will develop diabetes and other well-known adverse effects from long-term drug treatment. I am upset about his teeth becoming rotten due to the continuous use of liquid largactil. I know his insistence of smoking endless cigarettes and drinking Coca-Cola and refusing to clean his teeth contributes to this too and I understand that this is John’s issue. I am upset that I had to go to the lengths I did of creating a campaign which involved media and politics in order to get a day out with John. That fight took so much out of me, and me and my children suffered as a result. I am upset that we have not been permitted any overnights for years. As a family, we have lost so much in terms of intimacy and time together. Joshua has missed out on a father and we have conducted most of our family relationship in a locked visitor’s room, which has been devastating.
—Letter by Gráinne Humphrys to the PICU team at the Carraig Mór Centre, March 2011[1][24]
Hunt's fortnightly passes were rescinded following an incident in June 2011 when he struck a male member of staff.[19] The authorities at the Carraig Mór Centre also barred all visits to Hunt by non-family members.[25] According to Hunt's mother, the medical authorities at Carraig Mór failed to investigate either the context of the assault or Hunt's emotional condition at that time.[19] When the incident occurred Hunt was talking to his son on the telephone as it was his fifth birthday.[26] He had just broken up with his partner and, according to his mother, "he was frustrated and drugged up."[19] Another patient at the facility requested to use the telephone and a psychiatric nurse asked Hunt to end his telephone call.[26] At this point Hunt assaulted the nurse.[26] Humphreys has said that Hunt's behaviour was due to the regime of forced treatment and over-medication.[19]
The authorities at Carraig Mór reported the incident to the Gardaí (the Irish police force) and also sent a report to the Mental Health Commission.[19] The Commission subsequently directed that the incident should be addressed by a Mental Health Tribunal.[19] This tribunal ruled that Hunt should be transferred to the Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum,[19] which is the main forensic psychiatric facility in Ireland.[27] Although Hunt's solicitor, Mr Eamonn Moloney who was selected by his family and is "known and liked by" Hunt,[26] is a member of the Mental Health Commission's "tribunal legal board" he was not appointed by the Commission to attend this tribunal session.[19] His family also were not allowed to attend the internal hearing.[19] The family have queried why they were not consulted about the decision to transfer Hunt.[19] Humphreys has criticised the tribunal system as "a closed shop".[19] One week after the incident Hunt's mother attempted to visit her son at Carraig Mór but was denied entry to the facility.[26]
The Irish Health Service Executive has responded that it is the goal of the mental health services to “work in a collaborative way with patients and their families to ensure the best outcome possible for people who need mental health services”.[19] They also stated that, “All patients detained under the Mental Health Act have access to independent legal advice. Their detention under the mental health act is reviewed at regular intervals by an independent mental health review tribunal. This tribunal has the power to end the patient’s detention".[19]
Prior to his transfer Humphreys stated that she and Hunt's family were apprehensive about the plan to relocate him but that they remained hopeful that better rehabilitative services would be available to him in Dundrum than were accessible at Carraig Mór.[28] Characterising Hunt's own attitude towards his impending removal to the Central Mental Hospital, Humphreys said: "He is afraid about it, and very worried to leave Carraig Mór, as it has been home for almost six years. It is much further away from his family and visiting will be very difficult. But at the same time, he is a little bit excited about something new".[28] Hunt was reported to be worried, however, that he might never be released following his transferral.[28] John McCarthy, a mental health campaigner and the founder of Mad Pride Ireland, likened the facilities of John's detention as a form of "jail" where patients were held with "no judge, jury or release date".[28]