The new CCMC | CDN file photo.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A Cebu City councilor wants a mental health service institutionalized in Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC).
Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos filed on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, the draft of her proposed “Cebu City Medical Center Behavioral Health Unit Ordinance” before the city council.
The proposed ordinance aims to provide “affordable, accessible, and available” mental health facilities that would cater to the mental health needs of the Cebuanos considered a high-risk population.
The draft resolution was referred to the council’s Committee on Laws, Ordinances, and Styling for review.
The proposed ordinance also aims to integrate mental health care in the hospital care delivery system and implement strategies for the promotion of mental health and prevention of mental health problems.
If this ordinance would be passed and approved, mental health personnel would be assigned at the CCMC.
These include two psychiatrist consultants, three psychologists, two nursing personnel, four unit auxiliaries, one psychometrician, and one social worker.
They will work together to provide the necessary care to mental health patients, such as assessment and diagnosis of patients, and prescription of medications and perform medical Titration, among others.
The mental health service would provide a (a) short-term in-patient hospital care for stabilization purposes in a behavioral unit for clients who manifest apparent signs and symptoms, and (b) out-patient services for periodic mental health treatment care, such as counseling and therapy.
De los Santos, in her proposed ordinance, maintained that the increasing trauma from vehicular accidents and even physical violence within and outside the family have attributed to the prevalence of mental health conditions in the society.
“Some patients who have been admitted in Cebu City Medical Center, who are victims of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, would have a diagnosable mental health condition,” she said.
With the increasing incidence of mental health issues and the enormous professional fees of mental health experts, it would be prudent for the city to designate an area of CCMC as behavioral unit which would serve the need of the underprivileged constituents of the city, she added.
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