Washington D.C. Mental Health Unions Sue Against Privatization
September 24th, 2009 |
A GoodTherapy.org News Headline
Mental health services in the nation’s capital have long experienced a need for reorganization and improvement, efforts which were given a great deal of aid when the district was ordered to provide public services to its residents in the past. But an intense push towards the privatization of mental health services in Washington D.C. has led to overworked clinics and offices that some workers say is unsustainable. As a result, a number of local unions have decided to sue the district and its Department of Mental Health in an effort to restore the availability of public services and improve care for local residents.
© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Fresno Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
I hope they win! They deserve support for highlighting bad working conditions and how badly that has affected access to mental health providers for patients.
So the private mental health services get disbanded and leave all the patients in the lurch? Let me guess. It will save money. Never mind the quality of life nurses or patients will have while this is all being sorted out. Never mind that the Department of Mental Health can’t prove it will really save that much. How mismanaged does that all sound?
Yeah how many deserving citizens are going to miss out on critical mental health care if these services are all privatized? Too many.
Although the number of people support privatization, I am not too comfortable with the idea. People think privatization will bring in more accuracy and an appropriate service. But this is far from the truth, as long as I have observed. It creates more curiosity, and more room for opacity.
At a time like this when people cant afford private clinics, it is only right that the govt. makes quality medical care available in public hospitals. Why should mental health care be an exception?