The family of the tragically deceased 32-year-old kinesiologist Kristijan Periš has called on citizens to attend a commemorative gathering on Saturday, 21 November, starting at 18.30 at Ban Jelačić Square in Zagreb. The slogan of the gathering is "You will not suffocate us!".
Participants should bring a white pillow, which has become a symbol of inappropriate treatment of particularly vulnerable people following this tragedy. The family stated: "A pillow is placed under a patient's head, not on their face." They added: "One pillow was used to suffocate a man. With thousands of pillows, we demand that this never happens again. You will not suffocate us!"
The family distanced itself from other announced protests in Zagreb and Split, stating that they do not stand behind them. They emphasised that the gathering is a family, official commemoration which they do not want anyone to associate with political parties that are misusing Kristijan's tragic death for political spin.
The family published five demands seeking changes to hospital protocols, above all rules on the physical restraint of patients, mandatory video surveillance, and the investigation of everyone who was present or participated in the application of force against Kristijan. They also demand that the sick leave of employees at the Jankomir hospital be checked. Former president of the Board of Directors of the Sveti Ivan Psychiatric Clinic in Jankomir, Mirando Mrsić, stated that as many as 30 per cent of employees are on sick leave.
The first demand concerns the revision of the Law on the Protection of Persons with Mental Disorders and the Regulation on Measures of Force, with a warning that the regulation prohibits pressure on the neck, chest and abdomen of patients. Pressure on the face and any procedure that prevents or hinders breathing is explicitly prohibited. Every application of physical restraint must be immediately reported to the State Ombudsman for the Protection of Persons with Mental Disorders, and every death or serious injury occurring during restraint must be immediately reported to the police.
The second demand calls for mandatory video surveillance of restrained patients in rooms where measures of force are applied. Current regulations provided for video surveillance when possible, but it is now demanded without exception. They request that every recording of the application of force be reviewed immediately, and that recordings be kept for at least six months.
The third demand calls for the investigation of all persons who were in the hospital room during the physical restraint of Kristijan Periš, which includes medical technicians, nurses and doctors, to establish why no one attempted to stop the procedure that clearly went wrong.
The fourth demand raises the issue of employee sick leave at the Clinic after Periš's death, citing Mrsić's statement that employees had been going on sick leave one after another following the fatal incident. They demand that the Croatian Health Insurance Fund and the Croatian Medical Chamber check on what basis their sick leave was approved.
The fifth demand from the Periš family is that the Jankomir Clinic be named after Kristijan Josip Periš. The request for naming the Clinic was sent to the City of Zagreb as the founder of the hospital. In this way, they stated, everyone who enters the Clinic's doors will know why the rules must be respected.
