The pandemic has highlighted Malta’s dire need for an improved mental health system to contribute to the holistic well-being of individuals who make up Maltese society.
Undoubtedly, mental health permeates every aspect of people’s lives and it is evident that the pandemic has left its mark. Lockdown, the fear of infection, the untoward stress experienced by struggling business owners, the impact of home schooling on learners of all ages, not to mention parents’ unrelenting effort in effective juggling between the demands of working from home and seeing to the needs of their children are all perplexing situations which have left their psychological and emotional toll.
Such unpredictable challenges have given rise to an unprecedented, increased demand for services related to mental health support. This has inadvertently accentuated the lacking quality of our public services which have been left wanting for many years. Although some effort has been put into improving Malta’s mental health services over the last few years, unfortunately, the effect is negligible.
Regrettably, Malta’s mental health services fall short of the expected international standards notwithstanding the dedicated staff, who try their utmost to provide compassionate and professional care to their patients.
It is an indisputable fact that the mental health service cannot possibly register improvement in its function if it is underfunded and under-resourced. If its inadequate infrastructure is not addressed, Malta is undoubtedly failing the Maltese population.
Soon after the onset of the epidemic, it became clear to all and sundry that, beyond the physical and economic impact of COVID-19, the pandemic had created an urgent need for efficient and effective health services.
However, appropriate and much needed action was not taken since the limited mental health services offered, and which were previously integrated within Mater Dei Hospital, were shifted. Outpatient services were offloaded in a hasty manner onto the regional mental health clinics, which were already spread thinly and were dealing with a huge number of clients.
To aggravate the situation, these mental health clinics are not available in every region of Malta, thus causing increased hardship. Moreover, patients were robbed of the possibility of seeking treatment at Mater Dei since the psychiatric unit was relocated to Mount Carmel Hospital. Although the care offered is equally professional, the environment is not conducive to recovery from a mental illness.
It goes without saying that unless our nation enjoys good mental health we cannot have healthy individuals raising healthy families, we cannot have healthy young people following an education and who will eventually contribute towards a thriving society tomorrow, not to mention healthy employees driving a healthy economy. Thankfully, our current situation is now better realised and understood.
We need to invest in community services to support individuals living with a mental health condition- Joe Giglio
In our quest for a healthy society, we need to think and plan for the promotion of our nation’s good mental health by limiting those adverse life situations which create the long-term stress and which generate mental issues. These manifest themselves in poverty, dilapidated housing, homelessness and substance misuse.
We need to invest our efforts in a wide educational programme which caters for all ages starting from our youngest citizens. The educational focus should be on respectful relationships and non-abusive relationships. It should cater for a holistic personal development for resilience and it should aim at creating more supportive communities.
We need to invest in early intervention services, providing services to individuals, often adolescents and young adults, who are experiencing the first symptoms of mental illness, services which are well resourced to provide timely support within the community.
We need to invest in a wider variety of community services to support individuals who are living with a mental health condition and require long-term assistance which is dignified, individualised and rehabilitative and enabling them to enjoy a good quality of life away from hospital.
Finally, we need more clinical mental health services, ones which are integrated within mainstream health services, providing professional care within settings that respect the dignity of the patient and eradicate the stigma that still shadows mental health services.
Joe Giglio, PN candidate