Patients with mental illness are left to their own devices

 

In a hierarchy of countries with the most mentally ill, including 23 states. Over 350,000 have a mental illness, from depression to schizophrenia.

The main mental disorders encountered are depressive episodes and schizophrenia. The serious thing is that at least half of the patients do not have access to psychiatric diagnostic and treatment services. 25% of patients with major mental illness, depression, schizophrenia do not have access to psychiatrists at all ".

Limited access to investigations

There is no national mental disorder registry, but only doctors' programs keep track of patients' numbers at the hospital level. Representatives of patients suggest that access to clinical and paraclinical tests is the first challenge facing patients. It is also necessary to have access to the patient's medical records, which is almost impossible, as the electronic medical record is not yet available. "It is vital that the hospital's duty to ensure the criteria for clinical and parclinical investigations is clearly defined in law, even when accused of being diagnosed requiring involuntary hospitalization. Sadly, only clinical investigations are carried out in hospitals, aside from a few paraclinical investigations, but you cannot rely on them alone.

The Mental Health Act states that "the patient has the right to continuous medical care until his health improves or until he is cured." In the papers, it sounds good that many times after being discharged, the patient remains in the will of fate. After being treated in a hospital, usually with an average hospital stay of two weeks, depending on the severity of the case, the patient should be transferred to a recovery and rehabilitation center. There are few centers of this kind. Usually, patients arrive at home, where they no longer strictly follow the treatment. "We do not have enough centers, sanatoriums. Psychiatric recovery must be done in the sanatorium, and this lasts two or three years. There is a sanatorium in Predeal, but not all of them can be sent there. There are those centers of maximum safety, but not sanatoriums ",

"Recovery means being taken to a protected environment."

In other countries, a patient's care and recovery groups suffering from a mental illness are a priority. Patients are kept for a long time in a protected environment, especially after discharge from the hospital. In, because the hospitalization expenses are very high, the patient is sent to follow the outpatient treatment, where he can hardly be followed. " The psychiatric patient cannot treat himself or herself in an ambulatory setting. He's not like a conscious patient. He stays at home and does not go to the outpatient clinic to receive treatment, then having seizures. Recovery means to be taken in a protected environment, under therapeutic attention ", added the patient's representative.

In order to draw attention to the needs in the field of mental illness, but also to the stigma that patients face, a group of specialists that includes, along with other psychiatrists in the country, have started a campaign last year. . They say the budget for mental illness has been drastically reduced in recent years. " It is crucial that issues in this region are brought back to the public's notice, but without stigmatizing patients. We started the campaign after a debate attended by patients, doctors, authorities. It should be noted that before EU integration, funding for mental illness was $ 28 million, now it has reached $ 3 million. This is because the political interest in the subject has decreased ".

"A big problem is that many are stigmatized."

The mentally ill are often stigmatized by society, it is very difficult to find a job even after the disease has healed. Doctors say that, especially for those with severe pathology, there should be a protected environment that allows them to integrate. " The scope is that multidisciplinary situations have significantly expanded, and people are suffering from other illnesses, as well as psychiatric disorders.  The big problem is that many are stigmatized. An alarm signal must be sounded both among the general population and doctors of other specialties, who do not always have a proper attitude towards patients with mental illness. There should be a protected environment for those with severe pathology, where they can carry out certain activities.

In there is the National Program of mental health and prophylaxis in psychiatric pathology, developed through DSPs.

A training program for SCM staff in community, psychiatry was also implemented.