BGHMC enjoined to re-institute mental health program
City officials recently enjoined the State-run Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) in partnership with mental health service providers and organizations to re-institute its mental health programs for the patients, including dialysis patients and their watchers, in the city.
Under Resolution No. 090, series of 2022, local legislators stated that the conduct or resumption of mental health programs, like free psychological treatment and counselling, is a great help to patients, and their watchers, that despite the uncertainties of their health and medical conditions, they can at least regain the courage to continue their medications and prevent the patients’ suicidal ideation and attempts to end their lives considering their difficult situations affecting their health.
The council claimed that there is a need to effectively and efficiently address the mental health concerns of the patients being confined in the hospital by re-instituting the mental health programs for critically-ill individuals.
The body added that significantly, the latest issuance of the inter-agency task force for the management of emerging infectious diseases provides for the allowance to conduct related activities that require face-to-face interactions.
Further, the council enjoined other mental health service providers, educational institutions and other mental health organizations in the city to actively participate in the programs that provide assistance and guidance to the patients who are in critical conditions.
Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined mental health as ‘ a state of well being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities or potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community,” which refers to the foundation of the well being and effective functioning of individuals.
The BGHMC is had been implementing its mental health programs designed to accommodate and support its patients under critical conditions, including those with suicidal ideation, but these were interrupted by the ongoing Corona Virus Disease (COVID) 2019 pandemic to comply with the restrictions imposed by the inter-agency task force to prevent or limit the spread of the deadly virus.
According to the council, the ongoing pandemic gravely affected the mental health of the patients, especially those who are in critical condition.
The council emphasized that with the cooperation of mental health providers, the BGHMC can effectively and efficiently re-institute its mental health programs to cater to the increasing demand for the appropriate interventions to help people recover from mental health problems aggravated by the serious negative impact of the pandemic to people not only in urban centers but also in rural communities around the country. – Dexter A. See
