Spain faces a unprecedented crisis in its mental health system. The growing demand for specialized care and the shortage of psychiatrists are taking the Spanish system to a critical situation. Mental illnesses, from anxiety to schizophrenia, not only have a serious impact on patients’ lives, but also represent a unsustainable economic and social burden. Action must be taken immediately.
This is what they have stated Manuel Martin, president of the Spanish Society of Psychiatry and Mental Health (Sepsm) and board of trustees of the Fidmag Research Foundation (Hermanas Hospitalarias) and Marina Diazvice president of the Sepsm, head of Section at the San Carlos Clinical Hospital and professor of Psychiatry at the Complutense University this week during the press conference to present the XVII National Congress of Psychiatry.
In their appearance, they carried out an exhaustive analysis of the “critical situation facing mental health in Spain.” The presentation focused on the structural problems of the system, the alarming levels of prevalence of mental illnesses and the lack of human resources to address them.
And, according to the National Health Report and the White Paper on Psychiatry, In 2019, 970.1 million cases of mental disorders were recorded worldwidean increase of 48% compared to 1990. This global increase has also had a strong impact in Spain, where 29% of the population currently suffers from some type of mental disorder at some point in their lives.
These disorders, as detailed, are mostly (approximately 95%) what is called common mental disorders: anxiety disorders, increasingly prevalent, especially among young people; mild depression, one of the main causes of disability worldwide; sleep disorders, which seriously affect quality of life and continue to increase; and stress-related disorders. The rest (approximately 5% of the population) have serious mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression or personality disorders.
More and more people recognize the need to take care of their emotional and psychological well-being, which leads them to seek professional support. This greater social sensitivity contributes to breaking down stigmas and makes it easier for the population to access therapies and treatments that improve their quality of life. “To ensure an effective response, it is imperative that Specific and differentiated resources are allocated to address milder mental disorders, without compromising the quality of care for serious pathologies that require more intensive and prolonged treatment. evidenced.
Six out of 10 people do not receive treatment
In Europe, around 84 million people suffer from some type of mental disorder, which places these disorders between the ten most common non-communicable diseases. “In Spain, the 60% of patients who need treatment are not receiving ita situation that shows the urgent need to strengthen the care system,” said Marina Díaz.
“Around 5.5 million specialized Psychiatric care consultations are attended to in specialty outpatient centers and hospitals of the National Health System, which means that approximately 95% of psychiatric consultations take place in public centers“he explained.
Inequalities in access
Another topic of great relevance is the disparity in access to psychiatric care between the different autonomous communities. The The average number of psychiatrists in Spain is 12 per 100,000 inhabitantswell below average of the countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which is 18 psychiatrists per 100,000 inhabitants.
“Considering a optimal ratio between 13 and 15 psychiatrists per 100,000 inhabitants, In Spain it would be necessary to incorporate between 370 and 565 psychiatrists per year from 2021 to 2026. There are large regional differences. Melilla and Ceuta are the communities with the least coverage, with only 4.72 psychiatrists per 100,000 inhabitants, while the Basque Country has a ratio of 14.99 psychiatrists per 100,000 inhabitants,” explained Martín Carrasco.
“These territorial differences aggravate the inequalities in access to specialized care. In the most affected regions, patients face long waiting lists and insufficient attention. This shortage is exacerbated by the aging of the workforce of active psychiatrists, where more than 20% are over 60 years old and 6.73% are over 65 years old, which predicts a high number of retirements in the coming years. This aging also coincides with the need for provide child psychiatriststo the new recently approved specialty,” he added.