Depression, anxiety, panic attacks, the range of mental illnesses is wide. And in the country there is neither a sufficient number of psychiatric personnel nor the open-mindedness to deal with the drama that daily pushes some people to eliminate themselves. From the Hospital de Cínicas they launch an alert.
Mental health in the country occupies a secondary place among the priorities of the people, and that is now obvious with the epidemic of ailments of this nature that plagues the population throughout the country.
This is pointed out by Dr. Julio Torales, head of Mental Health at the Hospital de Clínicas, who indicates that many of the suicide cases that occurred (more than 520 cases so far this year) could have been avoided if there were personnel and infrastructure for treatment of factors that determine the extreme decision to eliminate oneself.
“In Paraguay there are only 100 psychiatrists for the total population. Most mental illnesses appear in children and adolescents“, says Torales, pointing out that with this scenario it is very difficult to face this new epidemic.
It may interest you: The “world’s largest” San Roque is located in Encarnación
Torales points out that each school and college should have a Mental Health department, considering that at ages where these scales are studied, it is where the principles of mental illnesses appear.
With this structural deficiency and number of personnel, he says, the phenomenon that is constantly growing cannot be faced.
People with tendencies to self-eliminate, he adds, require comprehensive and special care with professionals who are not overwhelmed in terms of the number of patients to attend per day.
“80% of the people who self-eliminated contacted a professional (at least) a month before doing so and were treated without the required depth,” the professional means.
“We cannot with the existing demand, with the small number of psychiatrists, we are one hundred psychiatrists for more than 7 million inhabitants,” he adds.
It may interest you: Oxygen plant inaugurated in Hospital de Calle´Yo
