The mental health services are fragmented and there is no quality management system. The community mental health centers have limited capacities to offer services in such cases as severe mental illnesses or behavioral disorders in children and adolescents. According to managers and beneficiaries of such centers, among the challenges faced in the mental health sartor is the absence of psychosocial rehabilitation and integration activities that would be created and supported by the local public authorities in the community, said Veronica Vornicescu, programs coordinator at the public association “SOS Autism”.
In a news conference at IPN, organized by the Alliance of Organizations for Persons with Disabilities of the Republic of Moldova, Veronica Vornicescu spoke about the way in which the National Mental Health Program for 2017-2021 was implemented last year. Among the challenges, she mentioned the limited multidisciplinary approach due to the shortage of medical and nonmedical staff in health facilities and the lack of financial resources and of temporary placement services.
The expert noted that cooperation should be ensured with the social services. For example, such services as Protected Home or Community House are not developed in all the districts for assisting deinstitutionalized beneficiaries. But these services are extremely necessary. There are insufficient instruments of cooperation between the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and the local public authorities. The social assistants pointed to the necessity of creating services depending on the needs of beneficiaries. “Almost all the districts experience a shortage of services intended for persons with mental disabilities. The deinstitutionalization policy is hindered by the lack of developed alternative services like Protected Home and Community House,” stated Veronica Vornicescu.
As part of the program, the psychiatric hospitals received 130 million lei, while the mental health community centers – 25 million lei. There are yet inconsistencies in the data concerning the funds spent on the planned activities, added the expert.
The Alliance of Organizations for Persons with Disabilities of the Republic of Moldova consists of 53 civil society organizations involved in the promotion of the observance of the rights of persons with disabilities. Each year, the member organizations of the Alliance monitor the level of implementation of public social inclusion policies. The project is supported by the Embassy of Sweden and forms part of a program implemented by East Europe Foundation in partnership with the Center “Partnership for Development.
