The Ministry of Health will open nine mental health units at the beginning of next year, with a total of 42 professionalsin the municipalities of Valencia devastated by DANA to mitigate the problems that affected people may have in this field and lay the foundations for a psychosocial intervention system that responds quickly to them.
This was announced this Wednesday in Valencia by the Minister of Health, Monica Garciaafter meeting with the Minister of Health, Marciano Gomezand the Government delegate in the Valencian Country, Pilar Bernabeand has indicated that these units will be operational for a minimum period of one year “with the possibility of extending to 15 months or the necessary time.”
“The important thing is coordination, work on the ground and being able to anticipate what we are going to find in mental health problems,” García stressed.
Multidisciplinary teams
Multidisciplinary emergency mental health units (USME) will be made up of teams of psychologists, clinical psychologists, nurses, social workers and any other health and non-health personnel that may be necessary depending on the territory or population.
In addition, they will incorporate professionals to care for the teams that work in the emergency, “because Caring for those you care for is also essential“he said.
In this way, nine units will be deployed with four health and non-health professionals in each, to which a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist will be added for every three units. In total, 42 professionals who will be deployed in those municipalities designated as affected, very affected or “zone zero.” For its part, in Letur (Albacete) a unit will be deployed to provide care to the affected population.
All USME professionals will exercise a “situated intervention”, that is, based on knowledge of the area, its population and the specific problems it faces.
They will be operational for a minimum period of one year, with the possibility of extending their presence up to 15 months or as long as necessary depending on the circumstances and, similarly, the number of units and their professionals may be expanded depending on specific needs. that arise during your intervention.
Likewise, these units will be ready to activate urgently and in a coordinated manner in any future catastrophe, adapting to the characteristics and needs of the affected territory.
Four levels of intervention
Mónica García explains that she will have experts in disaster management
The USME model, he explained, is based on best international practices, following the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO)and will be supported by an advisory group of experts with extensive experience in flood management and other disasters.
The units are structured into four staggered and complementary levels of intervention: the first is the immediate response, since in the first moments of the disaster it is crucial to guarantee basic needs.
Secondly, community and family support. Once guaranteed basic services and passed the phase of shocka group intervention aimed at the community and families will begin, and special attention will be paid to children and adolescents.
In addition, there will be non-specialized focused support, designed for those who need more personalized support, either because they are more vulnerable to the situation or because they have lived through especially difficult experiences and, finally, specialized services for the care of people who, due to their severity, require specialized assistance.
Deadlines and coordination
The minister has indicated that it is expected to have the operation active at the beginning of next year – January or February – since before that they will speak with the actors who carry out the psychosocial interventions in the field, a mapping of resources will be done and they will know what the interventions that have already been made.
Mónica García has indicated that the actions will be coordinated to be able to reach “every corner” – so that “no one escapes us,” she stressed – and take preventive actions after DANA in order to contain the problems and not meet, in a few months, with which they are more chronic and exacerbated.
For her part, the Commissioner of Mental Health, Belen Gonzalezhas alluded to the fact that there may be problems such as anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorders that require more specialized care, and has highlighted the need to prevent the incidence of these pathologies.
WHO Europe mental health specialist, Ana María Tijerino, has highlighted the impact that disasters such as the one that occurred after DANA have on mental health and, to reduce its impact and harshness, it is necessary to work together with the Member States and implement policies that promote psychosocial support for those affected.
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