Over-drugging and the power of perception

I REFER to a letter from the Director of Communications, East Coast Area Health Board (ECAHB) objecting to some aspects of a recent report from the Irish Penal Reform Trust (Irish Examiner, September 15).

Among the issues highlighted in the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) report is the all too common perception among those working within the prison system that mentally ill patients leaving the Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, are perceived to be “over-drugged”.

In the letter from ECAHB, this common perception is said to be ”both misleading and inaccurate.”