Parliamentary proposal to place “psychologists” in schools

Federal National Council member Shadha Saeed Al Naqbi submitted a parliamentary proposal to the Minister of Health and Community Protection, Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al Owais, to change the name of “mental illness clinics” to “community health clinics,” explaining that “this measure will address the phenomenon of mentally ill patients refusing to receive psychological treatment, due to fear of society, or what is known as societal stigma.”

She also suggested assigning psychologists to schools, obligating children to visit them during school stages for periodic follow-up, and educating society about the importance of mental health.

In detail, Shaza Saeed Al Naqbi, a member of the Health and Environmental Affairs Committee in the Federal National Council, confirmed that there is a noticeable shortage in specialized cadres in the fields of mental health, and their inadequacy for the increasing numbers of mental patients in the country, noting that there is a disparity in the distribution of mental health services at the level of health facilities, which has led to some patients not receiving psychological treatment services, and increased pressure on mental health units in other hospitals.

Al Naqbi told Al-Emarat Al-Youm that she presented to the Minister of Health and Community Protection, during her intervention in the last council session, the results of a field monitoring that showed that psychiatric services are concentrated in nine hospitals distributed across the Emirates of Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah. The hospitals are “Khorfakkan”, “Fujairah”, “Obaidullah for the Elderly”, “Al Qasimi”, “Al Qasimi for Women and Childbirth”, “Kuwait” in Sharjah, “Masafi”, “Shaam”, and “Al Amal”, in addition to clinics for community mental health services in five health centers provided by psychiatrists, including three smart clinics that link family doctors at the center with psychiatrists at Al Amal Hospital (Al Khazan in Umm Al Quwain, Al Madinah in Fujairah, Al Hamidiyah in Ajman), and provide three specialized services.

“Although this number of treatment centres reflects the Ministry’s efforts to promote mental health in the community, reality confirms the need for more hospitals and specialised medical centres, especially in areas such as the eastern region of Khorfakkan and Kalba, whose residents suffer because the centres are far away from them. They are in dire need of either building a specialised psychiatric hospital to serve the region or allocating beds in the general hospital under the supervision of a team specialised in mental illnesses,” Al Naqbi said.

She stressed that “hypnotizing psychiatric patients near their families will have a significant positive impact on treatment.”

“There are 276 beds available at Al Amal Hospital, of which 190 are active. However, the distance still has a significant impact on the people of the area in completing treatment,” she added, suggesting upgrading the psychiatric services at Khorfakkan Hospital from outpatient clinics only to a “day care centre”, through a multidisciplinary and experienced team consisting of a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a social worker, an occupational therapist, a psychiatric nurse and volunteers.

Al Naqbi called for an increase in the number of specialized nursing staff, improving their salaries and adding a risk allowance to them, as they are vulnerable to injuries and violence from dangerous cases, noting that “financial and job incentives would attract young people to work in this sector.”

She said that she had submitted three parliamentary proposals to the Minister that would contribute to promoting mental and behavioral health among members of society of all ages and levels, and reducing the phenomenon of fear of psychological treatment, known as “social stigma.” The first is coordination between the Ministries of Health and Community Protection and Education to assign a specialist or psychiatrist in schools, while making visits to him mandatory for children, “to encourage and qualify society to accept the presence of a psychiatrist and social worker, and to enhance our children’s confidence in presenting their behavioral and psychological problems, and treating them from an early age.” The second proposal is cooperation between the Ministry of Health and Community Protection and relevant government agencies to organize courses on mental and behavioral health in schools and workplaces, with the aim of reducing the phenomenon of “social stigma” and spreading positive energy in society. Finally, changing the name of “mental illness clinics” to “community health clinics” to address the social stigma.

• Changing the name of psychiatric clinics helps combat the phenomenon of treatment refusal.