[The law on involuntary commitment and other detaintment in psychiatry. A study of registered involuntary...

The hospitals included in this study receive about 20% of all commitments to mental hospitals in Denmark. The investigation showed that 4% of the commitments were involuntary. The median time for involuntary detainment was 12 days. More than half of the patients who were committed on an involuntary basis experienced involuntary detainment. But 70% of all involuntary detainments were experienced by patients who were committed on a voluntary basis. The study suggests that a high bed occupancy rate together with poor out-hospital treatment of the patients might lead to a higher number of compulsory admissions. Other factors may be of importance but were not considered in this study. According to Danish law all compulsory admissions and detainments must be reviewed according to certain rules. The investigation showed that there were some irregularities concerning such reviewing. The number of staff members including doctors has not increased despite the fact that reviewing commitments and detainments takes a lot of time for the staff involved.