Sir, - I read with horror and bewilderment a report (The Irish Times, November 5th) that the Broadcasting Complaints Commission had upheld a complaint by the Eastern Health Board that an award-winning RTE report on mentally handicapped people in psychiatric hospitals was "not an objective and impartial treatment of the issues concerned". As a contributor to that report I felt it was, if anything, an under-representation of the tragic reality of these hideous institutions.
What was missing from the report was the total lack of dignity afforded those who end up there. The television could not convey the smell in the wards or the abject misery of these unfortunate victims of our so-called welfare state. These people never wear their own clothes, are prepared for bed before teatime, are lined up naked for showering and bathing, and have little or nothing to do all day except pace around a room. And if they find that objectionable there is the inevitable medical solution to the problem. This is all the more sad when one reflects on the excellent residential services provided for people with the same level of disability in many parts of the country.
My bewilderment also comes from the strenuous efforts which are continually being made to hide this reality from the public. Tony Connolly had the courage to highlight this issue which nobody wants to deal with and was refused permission to bring cameras into St Ita's psychiatric institution. The only aspect of the complaint from the Eastern Health Board with which I would agree is that the focus was exclusively on St Ita's. There are 1,200 mentally handicapped people living in these awful institutions all over the country.
But perhaps something positive may come out of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission finding. One assumes now that the Eastern Health Board is prepared to provide RTE with unrestricted access to its institutions in the interests of objectivity and impartiality. Then, finally, the public will be given a true picture as to how we care for our most vulnerable citizens. - Yours, etc.,
Dr Mark Harrold,
Senior Clinical Psychologist,
Castle Terrace,
Malahide,
Co Dublin.