So much for that 72-hour hold…
Britney Spears has been released from Cedars-Sinai hospital. According to news reports, the smoldering trainwreck (who is reportedly still smoldering) left the Los Angeles medical facility Saturday with TV shrink and FOO (Friend of Oprah) Dr. Phil McGraw in tow. (More on his involvement in this mess later.)
According to TMZ.com, hospital staff couldn’t be happier the pop wreck is gone considering the “hell” she put them through during her stay. (Hmmm… aren’t these medical professionals used to dealing with combative patients especially in the psych ward?) Sources tell TMZ the embattled singer spent much of her 30-hour stay pitching fits, demanding to leave, and cursing out the staff. Other reports say Brit would not lie or sit still and repeatedly pulled out an IV that was administered for health reasons. By all accounts she was generally being her typical out of control self yelling and screaming at people who would not do what she wanted them to.
One news report said nurses on the 7th floor of Cedars-Sinai described Spears as being “difficult.” Call it the understatement of the year.
According to TV’s “Access Hollywood,” the hospital released Spears without notifying any of the attorneys in her ongoing child custody case. (You’ll recall she landed in the hospital as a result of defying a court order issued issued in her custody battle with ex Kevin Federline.) Rather, the report says hospital staff simply allowed Brit to leave the facility roughly 30 hours after she had been admitted.
So what of that “5150 Hold” the entire world seemed to be schooled on following Brit’s high-profile ambulance ride to Cedars?
Under California’s “5150 Hold,” a person can be held involuntarily for 72 hours if he or she is deemed a danger to himself/herself or others. However, patients can be released early if doctors determine they are no longer a threat to themselves.
PEOPLE Magazine quoted a medical expert who said, “The 5150 legality is very loose, the 72 hours are not firm. All it requires is an ER psychiatrist to release the patient. … If Britney isn’t suicidal or homicidal, she doesn’t need to be hospitalized.”
And so began the tale of Brit’s journey home with her sometimes estranged father Jamie and the man daytime TV fans call “the good Dr. Phil.”
Find out Dr. Phil’s role in this ongoing drama, drama, drama is in my next blog.