The hierarchy of mental health

PUBLICATION DATE:
Diario EL PAIS

From the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, the British Hospital advances in the hierarchy of the specialty, in the implementation of specific policies, in the formation of specialized multidisciplinary teams, in the integration of members and the eradication of stigmatization.

According to the World Health Organization the 25% of the population will suffer from some mental disorder throughout their lives, with depression being the most frequent mental disorder.

Mental health is an integral part of people's general health and has multiple dimensions that have a much greater importance than that the strictly medical-biological, such as social, economic, family, work and psychological aspects, which directly influence in mental health of the population.

The COVID 19 pandemic generated an increase in the demand for mental health care and it is expected that this will continue and even may be accelerated.

In order to advance and deepen the hierarchy of the specialty, the British Hospital has developed a series of initiatives focused on providing hospital scheme members and users with an excellent care while including the entire institution, at all levels of care, with the aim of approach whose developing advances.

"Having good availability and allowing easy access to certain teams of specialists is one of the main aims that we have set," said one of the coordinators of the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Dr. Daniel Flores.

He agreed that "mental health is an area of public health that has been growing and being more important over time and has been particularly disturbed by the consequences of the recent pandemic", which led to an increase in consultations also at the British Hospital.

Flores highlighted the importance to develop healthcare subareas that have comprehensively improved the assistance. This is how outpatient consultations and hospitalization, specific capacities for violence, problematic use of substances, psychoeducation, academic activities and permanent training of the staff have been added to the attention at the emergency service.

The BH Psychiatry Department has been developing through multidisciplinary teams including the different specialists who deal with the patient, essentially the most complex one in which a shared vision must be achieved. The teams are made up by treating Psychiatrists, Psychologists, specialized Nursing staff, a Toxicologist and a social worker in consultation with the Medicine Department if necessary.

The department also ensures that psychiatric pathology is integrated into a less stigmatizing context, helping and training all contact points to facilitate care at a general level. In recent years, as we faced an exponential increase in cases of substance abuse and self-elimination attempts, specific programs have been implemented to address these problems that harass both patients and their families.

“We provide healthcare based on specialized multidisciplinary teams that assist specific populations of members with specific mental health problems. These specialized units are having great success since they allow us to provide the care that people need and maintain continuity in the different care processes”, concluded Svarcas.

 

 

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