Mental health organisations are questioning the government’s decision not to fulfil its electoral pledge of building a new psychiatric centre and, instead, rehabilitate Mount Carmel Hospital.

Times of Malta was told late last year several patients were being relocated from Mount Carmel after architects declared some wards as being unsafe and ordered their immediate closure.

Though heartened by the news that funds for the refurbishment of Mount Carmel were being increased significantly, the Alliance for Mental Health (A4MH) expressed “serious concern” about the government plans for the mental health sector.

Health Minister Chris Fearne was this week reported saying that Mount Carmel would be practically on par with Mater Dei Hospital by 2023.

A long-term plan for Mount Carmel, with no reference to the electoral pledge to build a new psychiatric hospital near Mater Dei “may be interpreted as a shift in focus to rehabilitating the current infrastructure at the expense of developing a new one.

“Improving standards is only one of the objectives of having a new psychiatric hospital – reducing stigma through mainstreaming of mental health acute services, by relocating them to the general hospital, is an equally pertinent objective,” A4MH said.

It added that Maltese society needed to move away from the focus on hospitalisation towards a wider range of well-resourced community services, as recommended by the World Health Organisation.

“A crisis response team is among the services required most urgently so that people are, as often as possible, prevented from reaching a stage where they require hospitalisation,” it continued.

A4MH called on Mr Fearne to clarify the government’s plans for the sector, adding that it looked forward to being part of the process of drawing up and implementing a national strategy for the mental health sector.

The alliance – made up of the Richmond Foundation, the Mental Health Association, the Maltese Association of Psychiatry and the Maltese Association of Psychiatric Nurse – noted that Malta needed a long-term plan that was not just limited to Mount Carmel.

The real experts were those who experienced the prevailing situation on a daily basis, it pointed out.

A4MH represents the interests of patients, family carers, professionals and employers within the mental health sector. It has published a policy paper that suggests the involvement of service users, their care givers and the professionals in any long-term plan.

The alliance itself provides a platform for such consultation to take place.

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