Minister emphasises need to tackle stress among young

Stress among youngsters, especially the type brought about by the education system, needs to be addressed or the number of people requiring mental health treatment will skyrocket, Health Minister Louis Deguara warned yesterday.

He said people still looked at school as a means of competing instead of a character-forming experience.

Dr Deguara stressed the importance of getting to the bottom of what is pushing youngsters to drink, smoke and take drugs.

Speaking during the opening of a newly-refurbished women's ward at Mount Carmel Hospital, Dr Deguara said statistics show that 25 per cent of the people suffer from mental health problems at some point in their life, adding that the rate was on the increase. However, the number of patients in residential care had gone down because more treatment is accessible within the community.

The minister said the stigma surrounding mental health seemed to be slowly diminishing. Some years ago few people would have visited Mount Carmel because they did not want to be associated with the mental hospital, but things were getting better.

The newly-refurbished ward is intended for patients with challenging behaviour, and includes a number of isolation rooms. Bright colours give the ward a more cheerful mood and a Christmas tree in the canteen brings festive cheer.

The refurbishment - which cost about Lm110,000 and was funded by the Welfare Committee - is not the only change taking place at the Attard hospital. Mount Carmel chief executive Edward Borg said a big investment was being made in staff training, both for those who work close to patients and also support staff.

He said a first group of nurses has just graduated in psychiatric nursing.

A number of nurses is also being given the opportunity to attend courses for continuous professional development.