Joint Agreement: "The relationship between relatives and professionals – regulation of contractual quality assurance in the field of psychiatric care"

In the system for psychiatric help and treatment, despite many improvements since introduction of the Enquiry into the State of Psychiatry (1976), there is still a major discrepancy between the care of all patients requiring treatment and the specific care of each individual.

If we want to further improve the quality of care then it will also be necessary to consider the quality of the relationship between relatives and the professionals and the patients themselves. Effective help also requires a dialogue with the relatives, whilst respecting the will of the patient.