The Psychiatric Patients’ Complaints Board has criticisable processing times in cases about force

Publiceret 17-11-2025

When a decision is made about forced admission or forced detainment of a patient in the psychiatric sector, the patient has in accordance with Section 71(6) of the Constitutional Act and Article 5(4) of the European Convention on Human Rights a special right to a simple, effective and speedy judicial review of the deprivation of liberty.

This access to judicial review applies when the patient has had his or her complaint processed in the Psychiatric Patients’ Complaints Board. It is presumed in the explanatory notes to the Mental Health Act that the complaint case generally must be concluded within two weeks.

However, an investigation from the Parliamentary Ombudsman shows that the complaint cases concluded in the first quarter of 2025 had an average case processing time of 212.8 days (approx. seven months). And more than 95 per cent of the complaint cases concluded in 2024 and the first quarter of 2025 were concluded more than two weeks after the receipt of the complaint, even though this should only exceptionally be the case according to the explanatory notes. 

‘Citizens who are forcibly admitted or detained have the right to have their complaint about the deprivation of liberty processed speedily so that they can get clarification as to whether the deprivation of liberty is or was lawful. The current case processing times are not compatible with the prerequisites of the Mental Health Act. I find this criticisable in relation to the significant and intrusive decisions that are being made towards citizens in a vulnerable position’, says Parliamentary Ombudsman Christian Britten Lundblad.

The Ombudsman adds that it gives him cause for concern that the Ministry of the Interior and Health cannot say when the case processing times at the Psychiatric Patients’ Complaints Board can be expected to be brought down to a satisfactory level.

‘But I assume that the Board in its processing and prioritising of the complaint cases ensures that there are no cases where Denmark as a consequence of the Board’s case processing times does not live up to its human rights obligations to ensure the right to a simple, effective and speedy judicial review of a deprivation of liberty’, he adds.

Difficult to get medical board members

The Danish Patient Complaints Agency and the Ministry of the Interior and Health have stated to the Ombudsman that the reason for the long case processing times is, among other things, that the Psychiatric Patients’ Complaints Board in the end of 2023 was transferred from the Danish Appeals Boards Authority to the Danish Patient Complaints Agency. This led to an accumulation of cases due to the need for recruiting and training new case officers.

Furthermore, the authorities state that there have been problems with too few medical members on the board, and the number of complaint cases has increased.

In April 2025, a one-year supplementary grant of DKK 5.3 million was granted in order to bring down the case processing times. Besides, as part of the political agreement of a 10-year plan for the psychiatric sector, it was decided to allocate means to buy out medical board members. In addition, a task group has been established under the Ministry of the Interior and Health to look at possible solutions in the field.

In December 2025, the Ministry of the Interior and Health will send updated information about the Psychiatric Patients’ Complaints Board’s case processing times to the Ombudsman.

 

Read the Ombudsman’s statement (in Danish only).

 

Further information:

Director of International Relations Klavs Kinnerup Hede, kkh@ombudsmanden.dk

Facts

The Psychiatric Patients’ Complaints Board processes complaints about forced admission, forced detainment, return, forced treatment, forced immobilisation, use of physical force, administration of a sedative using force, protective immobilisation, use of personal alarm and tracking systems and special door locks, personal seclusion that lasts continuously for more than 24 hours, locking of ward doors, ambulant forced immobilisation and locking of patient room at Sikringsafdelingen (maximum security unit). 

In complaint cases about forced treatment granted suspensive effect, the Psychiatric Patients’ Complaints Board must make a decision within seven working days after receipt of the complaint; cf. Section 36(3), 1st sentence, of the Mental Health Act.

In 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, the Psychiatric Patients’ Complaints Board concluded 731 formally processed complaint cases about forced treatment granted suspensive effect. Approx. 94.3 per cent of the cases were concluded within seven working days of receipt of the complaint.

In cases about ambulant forced immobilisation at Sikringsafdelingen, the Board must make a decision no later than two weeks after receipt of the complaint; cf. Section 36(3), 2nd sentence, of the Mental Health Act. The Board did neither receive nor conclude such complaint cases in 2024 or the first quarter of 2025.

In all other cases, the Board must make a decision as soon as possible pursuant to Section 36(3), 3rd sentence, of the Mental Health Act. It is presumed in the explanatory notes to the provision that those cases normally must be concluded within two weeks after receipt of the complaint. It is not an absolute deadline, but it is presumed by the Act that it is only an exception that the case processing times are longer than two weeks in those cases.

In 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, the Psychiatric Patients’ Complaints Board concluded 601 formally processed complaint cases pursuant to Section 36(3), 3rd sentence, of the Mental Health Act. Only approx. 4.7 per cent of the cases were concluded within two weeks after receipt of the complaints.

It is set out in Section 71(6) of the Constitutional Act that the lawfulness of a deprivation of liberty outside the criminal justice system which is not decided by a judicial authority and which does not have authority in the legislation on foreign nationals must be submitted to the ordinary courts or other judicial authority for review at the request of the person deprived of liberty or the person acting on their behalf.

Pursuant to Article 5(4) of the European Convention on Human Rights, there is a right to bring a deprivation of liberty before a court so that the court can make a speedy decision on the lawfulness of the deprivation of liberty and on its cessation if the deprivation of liberty is not lawful.

It follows from Section 37(1) of the Mental Health Act that the Psychiatric Patients’ Complaints Board under the Danish Patient Complaints Agency, at the request of the patient or the patient advisor, must bring its decisions on forced admission, forced detainment, return, forced immobilisation, protective immobilisation, ambulant forced immobilisation at Sikringsafdelingen and locking of ward doors before the court, according to the rules in Chapter 43 a of the Administration of Justice Act (Consolidation Act No. 1160 of 5 November 2024). Presentation to the court must take place within five weekdays after the submission of the request according to Section 469(2) of the Administration of Justice Act.

The right to complain to the Psychiatric Patients’ Complaints Board must be used before a citizen can have decisions on forced admission, forced detainment, return, forced immobilisation, protective immobilisation, ambulant forced immobilisation at Sikringsafdelingen and locking of ward doors reviewed by the courts.

The rules on the right to complain and on judicial review in cases about force in the psychiatric sector can be found in Sections 34-39 of the Mental Health Act (Consolidation Act. No. 1045 of 18 September 2024 of the Act on the Use of Force in Psychiatry, etc.).