This is revealed in a report from a visit the Civil Ombudsman made to the institution in August and September last year.
The conditions that emerged during the visit were so serious that the ombudsman is now sounding the alarm.
Loose building parts are used as weapons
The buildings date from the 1920s and are currently used for the assessment of people with serious mental illness and problems of aggression or violence.
During the inspection, the ombudsman met several patients who have been subjected to extensive restrictions and prolonged forced use. This is due to the poor buildings, according to the civil ombudsman.
– They are in such a state and so old-fashioned designed that the danger of violence and increased unrest is greater and thus also the need for more coercion, says civil ombudsman Hanne Harlem to NRK.
Wires, pipes and bricks have come loose from the poorly maintained building and created dangerous situations for patients and staff.
– In several cases it has been used to harm themselves or others. It also means that you have to increase the control measures around the patients, says Harlem to NRK.
Another example is that the corridors used to transport the patients out into the air yard are so narrow that they pose a safety risk.
– One measure could be to ensure that the windows can be opened and closed so that the patients can get fresh air, says Harlem.
Have warned for many years
Among other things, Dikemark accepts people who have been sentenced to compulsory mental health care. In recent years, there has been a large increase in this patient group, while at the same time the number of beds has been reduced. According to the newspaper Budstikka, last autumn’s capacity was burst at the regional security department in Asker.
Already in 2014, doctors at Dikemark warned about undignified conditions for psychiatric patients at the hospital.
Oslo University Hospital plans to move the security psychiatric department from Dikemark to a new building at Ila during 2025, but Harlem still believes that the current building must be improved.
– These are patients who have been there for a long time. If you first use more coercion against this group than others, then you have to have better measures in this interim period, says Harlem and adds:
– The situation entails a clear risk of patients being exposed to inhumane and degrading treatment.
Oslo University Hospital has until 17 April to report back on how they have followed up the recommendations in the report.
