La tutela dello straniero nel trattamento sanitario obbligatorio per malattia mentale

In the event that a T.S.O. (the Italian equivalent for the Involuntary psychiatric treatment) for mental illness must be disposed towards a foreign or stateless citizen, who does not master the Italian language, it is up to the health administration to prepare the tools to facilitate the relationship with the patient, allowing the doctor to ascertain the existence of the conditions and to ensure that the execution takes place in accordance with the procedures provided by art. 33 of the L.n. 833/1978 and by articles 1 and 3 of the L.n. 219/2017. The right to efficient communication with the caregiver and to information adapted to the patient's difficulties of understanding does not fail simply because the therapeutic intervention does not take place in a consensual regime. Furthermore, since it is a coercive act, the validity of the provision depends on the fulfilment of the guarantees provided by the international law for the limitation of personal freedom, with particular regards to what is provided for by the ECHR and the UN Convention on the rights of people with disabilities.