Abinader says mental health actions are insufficient
Santo Domingo.– During the meeting LA Semanal with the press, the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, addressed the public policies that are being implemented by the government to address mental health in the country.
“More actions are needed. We have taken some actions on mental health in the country, still insufficient, but this is a very complex issue,” said Abinader, without offering further details on the initiatives in execution.
When referring to the case of Jean Andrés Pumarol, the president explained that it was a person with access to means and treatments, which was not enough to avoid this tragedy.
“En ese caso en específico no es ni siquiera lo que pueda hacer el gobierno, es la atención que tiene que estar con las familias. Los pacientes deben tomar sus medicamentos”,
señaló.
Regarding the hospital network dedicated to mental health, Abinader indicated that according to reports and statistics from the last 40 or 50 years, advances in medications have reduced the number of patients admitted to psychiatric hospitals by 70%. However, he stressed that the current challenge is to ensure that patients take their treatments properly.
