Nightmare: Innocent Man Mistakenly Locked Up in Mental Hospital, Injected With Powerful Antipsychotic Drugs

Graylands Hospital (Source: PerthNow)

A man, mistaken for an escaped mental patient, was picked up by police, detained at a mental facility and injected with powerful antipsychotic drugs. Yes, we know it may sound like a pretty good plot for psychological thriller, but it actually happened to a innocent Australian man.

The bizarre incident occurred earlier this month after the man was wrongly identified by hospital staff as an involuntary patient who left Australia's Graylands Hospital without permission. Authorities claim they did not realize what had happened until they had already given him the drugs.

The man soon fell ill after having the drug cocktail forced on him and required medical attention.

The man was given the antipsychotic drug Clozapine, "generally given to schizophrenia patients when other medication has failed. The drug caused an adverse reaction and the man was treated in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital overnight," the West Australian reports.

Health authorities and police are now investigating the incident.

News.com.au has more details:

The series of events started after a patient at the hospital left without permission in mid December.

Police were called to help locate the patient and several days later, a man with the same description of the escapee was brought back to Graylands by police where he was wrongly identified by hospital staff as the runaway patient.

The man was subsequently given a batch of antipsychotic drugs but it caused an adverse reaction and he was treated overnight in hospital.

The actual missing patient later returned to Graylands on his own.

Western Australia (WA) Mental Health Minister Helen Morton has reportedly apologized for the dreadful mistake.”

"I am very sorry for the distress and hurt that the misidentified man has endured," Mental Health Minister Helen Morton said. "I find it hard to imagine that if proper processes were followed, there is any excuse for such a terrible mistake to be made. I will await the outcome of the clinical review, however people must be held accountable for this dreadful mistake and ensure it never happens again."

According to Shadow attorney-general John Quigley, the incident was "nothing short of unlawful assault".

(H/T: Gawker)

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