Ministry of Health: China faces four major challenges in preventing and treating severe mental illness

The reporter learned from the Ministry of Health on the 16th that at present, China faces four major challenges, such as the lack of professionals, the overburdened medical care of patients, the imperfect prevention and control system at the district and county levels, and the lack of synergy among the various departments.

According to Yan Jun, Director of the Mental Health Division of the Disease Control Bureau of the Ministry of Health, since the end of 2010, the prevention and control of severe mental illness has been integrated into the overall plan for the construction of the Ping An Hospital. The current work is still facing many challenges: the number of psychiatrists in the country is less than 20,000. There are only 1.5 psychiatrists and 2.4 psychiatric nurses per 100,000 population, far below the world average of 4.15 and 12.97; the medical burden of severe mental patients is too heavy; mental health prevention networks at district and county levels have not yet formed. There are more than 1,100 mental health medical institutions throughout the country, the vast majority of which only serve as hospitals performing diagnostic and treatment functions. The role of management and technical guidance as a mental disease prevention and control center is very limited; measures to treat, treat, and manage severe mental patients in various departments have not yet been implemented. Form a synergy.

It is reported that in 2005, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance set up a central government subsidy program for the management of local severe mental illnesses, and organized the community and township medical institutions to conduct screening, documenting, and community-based screening for mentally ill patients under the guidance of mental health medical institutions. Management and follow-up provide free medication and hospitalization subsidies to some poor patients with unstable and dangerous behavior. As of the end of 2010, the project has covered 160 demonstration cities (states) and 680 districts (counties) in 30 provinces (regions, cities) and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps outside Tibet, and registered 270,000 severe mental patients. More than 180,000 patients were regularly followed up and those with rehabilitation tendencies were prone to accidents. According to the national survey conducted by the Public Security Department in 2005, the average number of people with severe mental illness was 2.68%, and from 2006 to 2010, the average number of patients with severe mental illness who received management treatment in the project area was 1.1%.

At present, the national basic data collection and analysis system for severe mental illnesses has been put in place. The Ministry of Health requires all localities to complete the input of patient information by September 30 at the latest, and to achieve the interface between the provincial information system and the national information system.