Public Defender visited Tbilisi Mental Health Center LLC. Nino Lomjaria viewed the men and women’s departments and the dining area. She met and talked to the inpatients and the staff.

Old infrastructure, overcrowding and poor sanitary-hygienic conditions were identified problematic as a result of the visit. The situation in the Center does not create a favorable therapeutic environment.

Patients are not provided with proper living conditions. They have no cupboards for personal belongings. There are no chairs or soft furniture in the Center. The smoking area is not isolated from the common area. There is a strong, specific smell in the building. Patients are not able to walk daily. There is no hot water in the bathrooms, so patients have to take care of their personal hygiene with cold water.

Funding for the inpatient service impedes the quality of proper care for patients or their psychosocial rehabilitation. Beneficiaries are often involved in conflicts and violence. There is no proper management of similar cases, no measures are taken to prevent violence.

The facility does not have sufficient staff. In addition, employees have no proper working conditions.

The Ombudsman calls on the state agencies to step up efforts to ensure a high standard of human rights protection in the area of mental health care, develop a deinstitutionalization strategy in a timely manner, and increase the number of community-based and psychosocial rehabilitation services.