Sir, I was interested to read the report of Akhtar and Jagawat (Journal, April 1993 ) regarding the restraint of psychiatric out-patients. While inhuman treatment of psychiatrically ill persons is to be condemned, the argument against the use of physical restraint seems at best superficial in the case of many psychotic patients. In the paper under discussion, the authors have admitted that rest...

An ex-patient draws on his own experience to suggest how life in mental hospital could be made more beneficial in simple ways and expresses reservations about the acceptance of patients back into the community.