CA's mental hospitals have both long wait lists and empty beds

By Rina Palta

Published Feb 11, 2015 8:23 AM

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Atascadero State Hospital, in central California, was built to treat mentally ill criminals. Since a new treatment plan was put into place, violent incidents at the hospital have increased. "I have constituents who ... work in the facility that are just distraught about their sense of threat and risk and potential injury," says one state lawmaker.

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Hundreds of bed have sat empty at California’s state-run mental hospitals, despite a long list of patients waiting to get in, according to a new report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

In December, the LAO counted 588 empty beds, which cost the state about $230,000 each year. In January, the waitlist to get one of those beds at the state's five mental institutions was 550 patients deep.

The Department of State Hospitals, which runs the state’s five mental hospitals, largely houses patients who’ve been convicted or accused of crimes, but are unable to live in a prison or jail because of severe mental illness. The hospitals also take in those deemed not guilty by reason of insanity and defendants who’ve been accused of crimes, but are deemed incompetent to stand trial.

Wait lists to get into the hospitals have been an issue for years.

“To hear that there are so many vacant beds while so many people sit warehoused in jail is truly criminalizing mental illness,” said Mark Gale, Criminal Justice Chair of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill’s Los Angeles County Council.

As of Feb. 3, 126 inmates were waiting in Los Angeles County jails for transfer to a state hospital. On average, they'd been waiting 2 1/2 months, according to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, which runs the jails.

“Maintaining such a long waitlist for DSH placement delays access to care for patients, as well as poses legal risks for the department,” the report said.

Because of those issues, in the last budget cycle, the legislature provided funding for 250 additional beds.

According to the report, about a third of the empty beds are a result of how the hospital system does and needs to operate, with patients coming in and out, transferring, and attending court dates all over the state.

But for the remaining two third, the Department of Health Services told the report’s authors staffing issues have diverted resources.

“The patient population has become more difficult and violent in recent years, which has increased the need for more intensive care,” the department told analysts, according to the report.

The authors suggest the agency change its budget request to reflect its actual needs. The report is expected to come up for discussion at legislative budget hearings in Sacramento this week.