A LOT temporarily occupied by the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) may soon house a medical institute for mental health as proposed by Councilor Mary Ann delos Santos.
In a privilege speech during last Wednesday’s session at the Cebu City Council, Delos Santos said the city government should do more to treat people beset by psychological and mental health problems.
Delos Santos, deputy mayor on health concerns, said while the city’s barangays have behavioral health units, there should be departments at the CCMC that deal with patients facing mental health and psychological problems.
She proposed the creation of a Neurobehavioral Science Institute that will be the first in the country with an acute care stabilization and outpatient diagnostic unit and a research arm that will complement the behavioral units in the barangays.
“The law is there, but it needs more work than just being on paper,” Councilor Delos Santos said.
Left untreated, Delos Santos said these patients can be a danger to society and a burden to their loved ones.
She said majority of these people ended up in jails due to lack of medical attention.
Delos Santos cited Cebu-based psychologist Dr. Anna Katrina Oaminal-Watin who complained about the lack of services for mental health treatment.
She said these services don’t come cheap and in the case of drug addiction, forms part of the rehabilitation program.
“Drug abuse is a mental illness and (can be considered) a medical problem,” Delos Santos said.
“We are championing the creation of a community-based program aimed at addressing mental issues, and I am proud to say that Cebu City is the first to set up the initiative in translating a national mental health bill in practice,” she said. /Silliman University Intern Alven Marie A. TimtiM