Calls for better mental health care infrastructure
Print Edition
AS China grapples with a growing number of people with untreated mental health problems, health officials are calling for a better approach to tackling the issue.
Latest figures from the Beijing Commission of Health and Family Planning show the capital had more than 50,000 registered patients with severe psychiatric disorders at the end of 2013, and the number is rising, Guo Jiyong, a commission official said yesterday.
According to statistics from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China’s population with mental health problems has exceeded 100 million — with 16 million suffering from particularly worrying conditions.
However, lack of medical infrastructure and a limited number of doctors is affecting treatment on offer.
Beijing has only 5,915 specialists in city hospitals and 995 in community health centers. They are charged with providing ongoing care to all mental patients occupying the city’s 9,888 sickbeds dedicated for such cases as well as those not in the hospital.
According to the Beijing commission, in extreme cases a specialist can be charged with caring for up to 300 patients at a time, posing immense pressure on medical professionals.
Meanwhile, many of the sick come from cash-strapped families who cannot afford high medical fees, forcing them to opt out of treatment.
Poor management at local levels has exacerbated the situation.
Yesterday was World Mental Health Day, and experts called on the government and society to pay more attention to people with mental disorders.
Xie Hui, director of the Beijing commission’s disease control department, urged the government to create a better system for their treatment.
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