The Editor,
Re. "A sweet boy's spiral, a mother's life lost" (The Tri-City News, July 4).
I am writing in response to some of the false information given in the above-referenced story. As a nurse who has worked in the emergency psychiatric department of the Royal Columbian Hospital for the past 17 years, I was alarmed to read that this young man was supposed held in a "padded room," was made sit on the floor and was handcuffed to a bed.
I can tell you for a fact that the seclusion rooms are not "padded," that each patient has a mattress to sleep/sit on and that never in my career has anyone been handcuffed to a bed.
The patient is monitored 24 hours a day by nursing staff and all basic needs are met. Security personnel are often present in the area for the safety of all.
It is these misconceptions surrounding how mental health patients are treated that cause many not to seek treatment which can lead to tragedies such as this one.
Darlene Paisley, Coquitlam
Editor's note: Ms. Paisley is correct, the room was not padded; our apologies for the error. On the other two points, the article did not state Blake Salemink was forced to sit on the floor, just that he was sitting on the floor when his sister encountered him. And Erica Salemink maintains her brother was handcuffed to his bed.
