Spain is in the midst of an alarming crisis in its mental health system, with around 29% of the population suffering from some type of mental disorder. This situation has been exposed by experts during the presentation of the XVII National Congress of Psychiatry, where the growing demand for mental health care and the alarming shortage of psychiatrists were highlighted, which are bringing the system to a critical point.
Manuel Martín Carrasco, president of the Spanish Society of Psychiatry and Mental Health (SEPSM), stressed that the National Health Report and the White Paper on Psychiatry reflect a global increase in mental disorders. In 2019, 970.1 million cases were recorded worldwide, which represents an increase of 48.1% compared to 1990. In Spain, approximately 29% of the population will suffer from some type of mental disorder at some point in time. their life, with anxiety disorders and mild depression being the most common.
These disorders, which make up 95% of cases, have increased considerably, especially among young people, which has led to a greater demand for psychiatric care.
According to Martín Carrasco, “the sustained increase in common mental disorders is generating a growing and constant demand for care, putting pressure on the health system and making access difficult for those with more serious disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.”
The current context not only represents a serious risk to the health of patients, but also translates into a significant economic impact. In 2023, more than 600,000 sick leave were due to psychiatric disorders, with an average duration of 111 days per sick leave. This situation is affecting the country’s productivity and contributing to an economic and social crisis.
Díaz Marsá, vice president of the SEPSM, provided alarming figures: in Europe, nearly 84 million people suffer from mental disorders, and in Spain, 60% of those who require treatment are not receiving it. This lack of attention has made psychiatry consultations predominant in public centers, where around 5.5 million consultations are carried out annually.
A critical aspect highlighted by specialists is the inequality in access to psychiatric care between autonomous communities. The average number of psychiatrists in Spain is only 12 per 100,000 inhabitants, well below the average of 18 psychiatrists in OECD countries.
In some regions, such as Melilla and Ceuta, coverage is even lower, with only 4.72 psychiatrists per 100,000 inhabitants. In contrast, the Basque Country has a more favorable ratio, with 14.99 psychiatrists per 100,000 inhabitants.
The aging of the psychiatrist workforce is another factor that aggravates the situation. More than 20% of active psychiatrists are over 60 years old, which anticipates a high number of retirements in the coming years, coinciding with the growing need for specialists, especially in child psychiatry.
Faced with this critical scenario, experts make an urgent call for action and have presented several proposals to avoid the collapse of the mental health system in Spain. Among them are, for example, strengthening the mental health care network and improving its accessibility, increasing the number of professionals and improving their distribution throughout the country, strengthening coordination between health and social services for a comprehensive approach, or developing a strategy state for suicide prevention and update the National Mental Health Strategy with new standards.