Dec 2, 2019

The ongoing safety problems in California's psychiatric hospitals

There have been almost 100 preventable deaths in California's psychiatric facilities over the last decade, the L.A. Times reports.

Why it matters: The investigation "marks the first public count of deaths at California’s mental health facilities and highlights breakdowns in care at these hospitals as well as the struggles of regulators to reduce the number of deaths," Soumya Karlamangla writes.

  • The count includes deaths that state investigators determined were caused by hospital negligence or malpractice, suicides and homicides.

What they're saying: Experts told the Times that the number of inpatient deaths in California doesn't appear to be higher than national averages, but raises huge concerns about patient safety.

Go deeper: The dark side of psychiatric hospitals

Go deeper