Knife attack in Hamburg: Psychiatry-related injured 18 people

Knife attack in Hamburg: Psychiatry-related injured 18 people

Hamburg, Deutschland - On October 18, a 39-year-old woman in Hamburg injured 18 people with a knife. This was only done one day after it had been released from a psychiatric facility. As maz-online.de reports, the woman comes from Lower Saxony and has no permanent residence. Since 2021 it has been noticed several times to the police and showed signs of a mental illness. In particular, a paranoid schizophrenia reports, one of the most common forms of schizophrenia that is associated with delusions and hallucinations.

The treating doctors saw no reason to keep the woman longer because she was not an acute danger to herself or others. This is a usual procedure in mental clinics, where the discharge is carried out in accordance with the respective mentally hospital laws (PsychKG). Forced admissions can only be decided in court and are usually limited in time. Nevertheless, this discharge raises questions, since homeless people often have no access to health insurance care and need low -threshold offers. According to pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Housing is often an expression of social exclusion and is often related to mental illnesses.

A particularly worrying aspect is the insufficient aftercare for homeless after a stay in psychiatry. It is unclear whether the woman from Hamburg was made an offer for aftercare or accommodation after her release. The study shows that many homeless people are mentally ill, but only has a third of them access to psychiatric care. In addition, more than two thirds of the homeless people suffer from mental illnesses, which is underpinned by an investigation by the Technical University of Munich.

challenges for the health system

This situation is tightened by the current social and political situation in Germany. The increase in homelessness since the 1970s has been closely linked to factors such as rising rental prices and unemployment. It is increasingly understood as a new form of poverty and social exclusion. Covid-19 pandemic has also tightened existing inequalities and made it difficult to support homeless people, as well as aerzteblatt.de

The supply gap in the field of psychiatric treatment is obvious. Numerous psychosocial models, such as "Housing First" and excessive support, show positive effects on social stability and psychiatric symptoms, but new approaches are necessary to meet the complex requirements of the target group.