4 research outputs found
The South African society of psychiatrists (SASOP) and SASOP State Employed Special Interest Group (SESIG) position statements on psychiatric care in the public sector
Executive summary. National mental health policy: SASOP
extends its support for the process of formalising a national
mental health policy as well as for the principles and content
of the current draft policy. Psychiatry and mental health:
psychiatrists should play a central role, along with the other
mental health disciplines, in the strategic and operational
planning of mental health services at local, provincial and
national level. Infrastructure and human resources: it is essential
that the state takes up its responsibility to provide adequate
structures, systems and funds for the specified services and
facilities on national, provincial and facility level, as a matter
of urgency. Standard treatment guidelines (STGs) and essential
drug lists (EDLs): close collaboration and co-ordination should
occur between the processes of establishing SASOP and
national treatment guidelines, as well as the related decisions
on EDLs for different levels. HIV/AIDS in children: national HIV
programmes have to promote awareness of the neurocognitive
problems and psychiatric morbidity associated with HIV in
children. HIV/AIDS in adults: the need for routine screening of
all HIV-positive individuals for mental health and cognitive
impairments should also be emphasised as many adult patients
have a mental illness, either before or as a consequence of HIV
infection, constituting a ‘special needs’ group. Substance abuse
and addiction: the adequate diagnosis and management of
related substance abuse and addiction problems should fall
within the domain of the health sector and, in particular, that
of mental health and psychiatry. Community psychiatry and
referral levels: the rendering of ambulatory specialist psychiatric
services on a community-centred basis should be regarded
as a key strategy to make these services more accessible to
users closer to where they live. Recovery and re-integration: a
recovery framework such that personal recovery outcomes,
among others, become the universal goals by which we
measure service provision, should be adopted as soon as
possible. Culture, mental health and psychiatry: culture, religion
and spirituality should be considered in the current approach
to the local practice and training of specialist psychiatry, within
the professional and ethical scope of the discipline. Forensic
psychiatry: an important and significant field within the scope
of state-employed psychiatrists, with 3 recognised groups of
patients (persons referred for forensic psychiatric observation,
state patients, and mentally ill prisoners), each with specific
needs, problems and possible solutions. Security in psychiatric
hospitals and units: it is necessary to protect public sector
mental healthcare practitioners from assault and injury as a
result of performing their clinical duties by, among others,
ensuring that adequate security procedures are implemented,
appropriate for the level of care required, and that appointed
security staff members are appropriately trained and equipped.Dr Reddy’s Laboratorieshttp://www.sajp.org.za/index.php/sajpam2013ay201