"Every year there are approximately 650,000 emergency room visits for psychiatric reasons. It is clear that it would be impossible to imagine an equivalent number of people to be subjected to strict supervision for possible violent behaviour, but we certainly have to ask ourselves about the connections that may exist between this first health intervention unit and the paths activated subsequently". As reported by the Dire Agency, he is the one who supports him Fabrizio Starace, president of the Italian Society of Psychiatric Epidemiology (Siep), who spoke on Radio24 in recent days to reflect on the condition of mental health in Italy. A reflection that is inspired by the triple murder that occurred in Ardea last Sunday, in which two children and an elderly man were victims of gunshots fired by a 34-year-old with mental problems.
"The territorial inequalities in our country are very marked and even intolerable - added Starace - especially when we consider that psychiatric assistance is not like a surgical operation which a person can benefit from by moving from one region to another and going to a center of excellence. It is assistance that is based in the reference community, aimed at reintegration and re-inclusion".
The problem is "a misunderstood perception of psychiatry which - President Siep further explained - continues to be considered in terms of performance, i.e. of outpatient visits, elicitation of symptoms and possible administration of a psychotropic drug. But this is not the community mental health foreseen by the law, the only useful tool to accompany and support people in difficulty but also to prevent extreme conditions and behavioral exacerbations". Suffice it to say that "even after compulsory health treatment (TSO) there is no continuity of care - added Starace - only the 30% of people who receive a TSO is seen in the 14 days following discharge from hospital. Probably due to problems of equipment and organization in the various territories".
A black and white photograph of Italian mental health taken by Starace. But that could be colored with the help of the Recovery Fund. "If we jumped forward 6-7 years and we were already in the conditions foreseen by the National recovery and resilience plan, with community homes and centers where groups of general practitioners alternate with groups of continuity of care doctors, having the possibility of intercepting the uncomfortable conditions themselves and giving continuity to the treatment - he stated - then evidently the facts of Ardea would have taken on other characteristics".
What tools do you need to put in place? "Those envisaged by the law, even before the Pnrr - added Starace - those which provide for Mental Health Centers spread throughout the territory, open 24 hours a day so as to be able to intercept these forms of distress at any time, with multidisciplinary teams projected towards the community, towards helping families. There is a systemic action to be implemented: we need to be present, proactive, leave clinics and hospitals, go to families' homes, encounter suffering and difficulties, thus avoiding extreme forms from manifesting".
In mental health"we don't need sophisticated technologies but we need human technology, competent and motivated people to carry out this work. One recovers from mental disorder - concludes President Siep - provided that action is taken early and appropriately, according to the treatment paths defined by the Ministry and with continuity over time".
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Photo by Raphael Brasileiro from Pexels
