Patients need help from relatives

President Eddie Fenech Adami yesterday urged people not to shed their individual responsibility toward their sick relatives. Speaking at Mount Carmel Hospital during a ceremony to mark World Mental Health Day, Dr Fenech Adami said that in the past it was families who used to take care of the sick.

While it was important to have a good hospital and other services for the sick, relatives should also have a role in the care of their loved ones to ensure that those in need get the best possible service.

The President said that while last century saw the universal recognition of human rights, at the same time there were those who were not respecting these rights and discriminating against people. He said there were those who argued that euthanasia too was a right.

Everybody has a role in life and nobody was here by coincidence.

An appeal to respect the dignity of people with mental health problems was made by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who said they should not find it more difficult to find work.

While stigma had decreased over the years, it was still present, Dr Gonzi said. This was reiterated by a number of dignitaries, including Archbishop Paul Cremona, who spoke during yesterday's ceremony.

Health Minister Louis Deguara said mental illness should be looked at in exactly the same way as other illnesses. Dr Gonzi spoke of the success of homes in the community, which were allowing patients that had been institutionalised for decades to integrate themselves in the community. However, Dr Deguara said, it was futile to try and integrate people in the community and then not give them the tools to be independent, such as a job.

Statistics show that 25 per cent of people will suffer mental health problems at some point in their lives. According to the EU's Green Paper on mental health, more than 27 per cent of adult Europeans experience at least one form of mental ill health during a year and by 2020 depression is expected to be the highest ranking cause of disease in the developed world. Dr Deguara said the law on mental health was in its final stages and he wanted to have Parliament approve it by the end of the year. However, he continued, the challenge lay in bringing about a change in culture.

Opposition Leader Alfred Sant said everyone could fall victim to mental health problems, adding that preventive services always needed to be top notch. He said a law for mental health was a priority.

Earlier, Mount Carmel board of directors chairman Louis Bonnici urged banks to keep in mind the repercussions that huge debts can have on a person's mental health before approving loans. Dr Bonnici said one should explore the possibility of setting up a research centre especially to do research with regard to dementia.