The introduction has been announced of a number of services for Gozitans in the community related to mental health.

Minister for Health and Active Ageing, Jo Etienne Abela, said that an essential part of the Malta 2050 Vision, as well as part of the mental health strategy launched by the Ministry, is that mental health treatments are provided as much as possible in the community.

“To make this possible, community teams have been established in various localities in Malta and we now also have a community team based in Gozo,” explained Minister Abela.

The Minister stressed that the Government is continuing to invest in human resources. Thus, this community outreach team has been established through four new nurses in the Gozo Psychiatric Outpatients Department.

He said that this Department caters for 1,400 patients who all live in Gozo, where of these 1,400 patients, there are 23 patients who have a community care order, which means that they can receive treatment in the community instead of being admitted to hospital.

“Today is an important day because the island of Gozitan now has a community team for mental health care. This is a crucial service and the Government recognised that there was a need for it in Gozo and while we thank the team of professionals for their dedication, we are certain that they will be doing a lot of good for Gozitan patients,” concluded Minister Jo Etienne Abela.

Dr Anton Grech, Clinical Chairman within the Department of Psychiatry, said “research clearly shows that the more mental health services we have in the community, the more positive effects they have. Today we have taken an important step in that these services are now being offered in Gozo itself.”

Photos: DOI

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