Patton State Hospital - Don't Go There

Follow the link below to a letter from the Dept of Justice to California Governor, Arnold Schwarnegger after an inspection of Patton State Hospital back in May 2006. Here are some excerpts, but read the full report:

"Patton fails to provide a reasonably safe environment for its patients."

"Patton also fails to keep patients reasonably safe fromself-harm. A substantial number of incidents reported at Patton involve self-harm. Of great concern is the high number of suicide attempts by hanging. In a recent one-month review of all reported suicide attempts, the vast majority of incidents involved attempts at suicide by hanging. Sadly, we understandthat shortly after our visit, a patient successfully committed suicide at Patton by hanging himself from his bedroom closet."

"Patton patients also are subject to adverse environmental conditions such as potential suicide hazards and the prevalence of illicit drugs. These problems are long-standing and serious.Yet, incident reports and other evidence make clear that the facility has not corrected them. Similarly, Patton fails to adequately address inappropriate sexual contact among individuals served at the facility, including sexual contact between staff and patients. This issue, too, is long-standing."

"Patton's psychiatric supports and services substantially depart from generally accepted professional standards of care and expose patients to a significant risk of harm and to actual harm. Generally, our investigation uncovered problems in three main areas of psychiatry: assessments and diagnoses, medication management, and treatment planning."

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/split/documents/patton_hosp_findlet_5-2-06.pdf