The City Health Office (CHO) said medical personnel in barangay health centers are equipped with the knowledge and training to provide mental health and psychosocial support.
CHO Mental Wellness Medical Coordinator Dr. Luis Antonio T. Flores, during the I-Speak Media Forum on Thursday, said that doctors, nurses, and other medical staff are ready to assist residents with concerns on mental wellness.
“Regarding mental wellness services, all health centers in the city are equipped. Our doctors, nurses, and staff have been trained by the World Health Organization to help address the shortage of psychiatrists in the country,” Flores said.
He explained that the training enabled health workers to handle patients with mental health needs. The CHO also ensures the availability of medicines for mental health cases, sourced from both the city government and the Department of Health (DOH).
In addition to treatment, the CHO responds to requests from schools for mental health awareness seminars. Flores said they continue to conduct information drives on suicide, its causes, and the medical interventions available to prevent it.
“Suicide is not a disease. It is the final outcome of many factors that patients can no longer cope with,” he said. Among these factors are mental illness, depression, anxiety, psychosis, substance abuse, poor family support, low educational attainment, lack of awareness of mental health services, and chronic pains such as those experienced by cancer patients or those undergoing dialysis.
Flores pointed out that suicide cases are more common among teenagers and young adults, which is why schools are the main target of their advocacy programs. Through the seminars, they emphasize that people with suicidal thoughts (ideations) should be treated as emergency cases.
“Having suicidal ideations is not normal and needs medical attention,” Flores stressed. He added that in health centers once patients are identified to have suicidal thoughts, health workers refer them immediately to psychiatric facilities, such as the Southern Philippines Medical Center – Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine (SPMC-IPBM), the city’s only psychiatric hospital.
“A patient with suicidal ideation should be managed in a hospital setting for close monitoring and proper medication,” he said.
Flores also reminded families that open communication at home can help detect early signs of suicidal thoughts and make it easier to link patients to mental health services. CIO
