Mass. correctional psych hospital uses excessive force, injections, report alleges

A Disability Law Center report alleges that staff at Bridgewater (Mass.) State Hospital, a correctional facility for people with mental illness, physically restrained and involuntarily medicated more than half of their patients over six months, WGBH reported Aug. 9.

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Video documentation showed 15 incidents where staff in riot gear held down unwilling patients as they were injected with medications, the report said. There was often no indication that there was an emergency, according to the Disability Law Center report.

The group said 130 patients — more than half of the patients held at the hospital — over the last six months were given injections, the report said.

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