The director of the Casa de Saúde São João de Deus, a mental health unit in Madeira, said Tuesday that hospitalizations due to medications increased with the pandemic and defended the creation of a therapeutic community in the region.
“The incidence rate is high, but the appearance of new cases is not so pronounced,” said Eduardo Lemos in a hearing at the Specialized Permanent Committee on Health and Civil Protection of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira, adding that the average age of the The population served at the Casa de Saúde São João de Deus is between 30 and 35 years old.
The hearing was requested by the PSD parliamentary group, with the objective of “Clarification on the programs to combat and deter the consumption of drugs and psychoactive substances in the Autonomous Region of Madeira (RAM)”.
According to information released by the Madeira parliament about this initiative, the head of the institution indicated that “since 2012, there have been more than 1,000 hospitalizations due to mental disorientation due to drugs.”
The nursing professional added that, “after the pandemic, the number of hospitalization cases increased, reaching 233 in 2021 and, between 2022 and 2023, the average was 206 hospitalizations per year.”
“Drugs cause global, severe and acute disorganization in the individual. Hallucinations and delusions are the psychotic symptoms that are detected” in people who in some way “put good social organization at risk,” explained this specialist.
Eduardo Lemos suggested that a new strategy should be implemented to combat the consumption of drugs and psychoactive substances.
“We must move towards a therapeutic community because it is an added value to the hospitalization model, where we are committed to longer stays and more in line with the different health disciplines,” he highlighted.
The person in charge highlighted that There is already a regional “task force” working on a strategy to combat and treat drug addictionwhich is part of the regional health department and the different social partners that work on the issue, including the courts.
He also maintained that it was necessary to reinforce primary prevention, diagnosis, treatment and social reintegration measures.
For the director of this unit, it is equally important to create “temporary shelters” and he challenged “public and private entities” to invest in the employment of the people served, with a view to their rehabilitation and social reintegration, as indicated in the same information from the unit. Regional Assembly.
“We have to have centers that address these issues with a view to insertion into the labor market,” he said, highlighting that the Casa de Saúde São João de Deus is setting an example with the integration of employees, “a task that is part of their responsibility.” social”.
Source: Observadora
