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Rowling's protest angers President -
Summary:
JK Rowling's protest against the removal of caged beds has angered the Czech Republic's President
Article:
Thanks to Wizardnews
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THE Czech president Vaclav Klaus criticised his top health official for responding to a protest by J K Rowling by ordering the removal of beds with restraining cages from Czech psychiatric facilities.
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Vaclav Klaus called the decision Josef Kubinyi, the health minister, a "cheap gesture".
Kubinyi had earlier ordered the immediate removal of the beds, used to confine uncontrollable patients, in response to criticism of the practice by Amnesty International and the Council of Europe. His spokeswoman said the last straw had been a protest letter to Klaus by Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series of children's books.
Yesterday, however, a spokesman for the president said he had been alarmed by the minister's "over-hasty step".
"The problem of dealing with people suffering from grave psychical disorders is a serious matter and cannot be solved . . . by cheap gestures," said Petr Hajek.
Klaus's comments appeared prompted by the timing of the move, suggesting Kubinyi was caving in to foreign pressure.
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Kubinyi acknowledged that the timing could be misinterpreted as "confirmation that something very wrong was happening in the Czech Republic".
His order on Tuesday called for beds with bars to be removed immediately and those with nets to be gone by the end of the year.
While some Czech psychiatrists criticise the use of such beds, others argue that lack of funds and personnel will force them to sedate some patients heavily or even tie them down if the beds are removed.
Among 9657 beds in Czech psychiatric facilities, about 100 have nets and only 20 have bars.–AP
The Herald 
