Mental health: More community clinics providing mental health care next year

New Straits Times

Tuesday, 07/08/2012

Mental health: More community clinics providing mental health care next year
By Elvina Fernandez

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry plans to set up more community clinics providing mental health care next year.

Its minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said less serious cases such as depression can be treated at the clinics to avoid an increase of mental illness in the country. “The ministry is looking at ensuring mental health patients  need not be warded in hospitals but treated earlier,” he told reporters after launching the Project Where Aid Turns  Into Sustainability (WATTS) by the True Loving Company Sdn. Bhd.

He said patients should only be warded in hospitals such as in Tampoi or Tanjung Rambutan when it is serious.

“The ministry would be setting up more of these clinics nationwide situated close to a hospital with a psychiatrist,”

“We have one such facility available in Putrajaya hospital where the mental health patients can be treated as a common patient which would help reduce the stigma,” he added.

Liow said this would enable the patients to recover faster and give them the needed confidence.

“We are in the process of choosing these hospitals with a psychiatric specialist who can conduct constant checks on the patients there.”

“We can not leave it to the clinic alone and should not be too far from a hospital as anything serious the patient has to be sent back there,” he added.

Liow said the clinics would be working closely with the hospitals adding that there was no psychiatrist shortage in the country.

Meanwhile, Liow encouraged the setting up of mental health community centres serving as a half way house after leaving the mental hospitals.

“The ministry will give all the needed support to non-governmental organisations intending to set up such centre,” he said.

Liow said mental health patient who had recovered needed the strong support of the community.

“Without proper support there is a high change they would relapse,” he said.
He said there was such a centre in Muar, operated by the Hospital Visitors Board, which saw mental patients fully recovering and were able to return to work and were accepted by the society without problems.

It was earlier reported that 1,000 people had taken their lives over three years.

The ratio was 1.3 to every 100,000, aged 24 to 44, from 2007 to 2010.

Liow also urged the public to take depression among family members seriously.

“Many Malaysians are facing depression but they are not aware of it, thinking it is just stress,” he said.

He said stress could turn into anxiety which leads de pression.

“If anxiety is not handled early enough, it turns into depression and with no steps taken to reduce the problem, it may lead to serious mental illness,” he said.

Liow said the problem was in individuals who were depress who did not seek medical help but isolated themselves.

“Family members should identify this situation and ensure they are treated,” he added.