The announcement was made by Professor Syed Mohammad Sultan of the Khyber Teaching Hospital’s Psychiatry Department.
PHOTO: EXPRESS
The announcement was made by Professor Syed Mohammad Sultan of the Khyber Teaching Hospital’s Psychiatry Department during his address on World Mental Health Day program at KTH on Monday.
According to a statement issued by the facility some seven million people in the country suffered from substance abuse disorder and 34% of people suffered from anxiety and depression During his address on the occasion, Sultan, said that one psychiatrist was globally recommended for every 10000 people but in our country there are only 400 psychiatrists to serve a population of 200 million.
Keeping in view the gravity of the mental health problems and the shortage of doctors and mental health resources, the statement quoted Sultan as saying, mental health gap needed to be reduced by training more doctors and mental health professionals.
He stated that Mental Health Act was needed to be modified and promulgated in K-P and other provinces at the earliest which, according to him, will protect the rights of patients and will also create job opportunities for psychologists, social workers, and other mental health professionals.
He demanded that the federal and provincial governments should increase the health budget in order to provide decent services to the people.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 11th, 2016.
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