CAGAYAN de Oro City Councilor Ma. Lourdes Gaane lamented the absence of psychiatric beds in all private and public hospitals in the city and urged the passage of the Cagayan de Oro Mental Health Code to address the problem.
Gaane, who just concluded her five-day visit in Kaohsiung City, said Taiwan implements a robust mental health care system, pointing out that enrollment of its National Health Insurance is mandatory under the Taiwan Constitution.
She said Kaohsiung, a city in Taiwan slightly smaller than Misamis Oriental, has world-class mental health infrastructure and hospitals which are non-profit as mandated by law.
Gaane said the city is also particular in promoting community rehabilitation and psychiatric intervention in the community level.
"On the other hand, the mental health situation in our city is not so bright. There is a distinct lack of psychiatric beds in the city. Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) has 600 beds, but no psychiatric beds. JR Borja General Hospital has 200 beds, but also no psychiatric beds. And all the nine private hospitals in the city has no private beds," Gaane said.
Instead, Cagayan de Oro City only has the House of Hope which single-handedly caters to the patients with mental health problems.
"What we like to do is generate synergy, establish a standardized mental health in communities. To achieve all this, we need to pass the Cagayan de Oro Mental Health Code in compliance of the Mental Health Act," she said.
The City Mental Health Code would create the Cagayan de Oro Mental Health Council.