Over 600 people queued at CMH for consultation with psychiatrists

Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), on Tuesday, has revealed that 662 people are queued at the hospital’s Center for Mental Health (CMH) for consultation with a psychiatrist.

The queue had previously topped thousands. Therefore, patients only received an appointment months after name noting. Subsequently, mental health patients went extended times without healthcare, exacerbating their conditions.

As World Mental health Day is celebrated today, IGMH’s call centre said there 662 patients queued for consultations as of present, whereas if an individual were to name note today, they would receive an appointment within a one-month timeframe.

Efforts to inquire an official comment from CMH has been unsuccessful through a written request to IGMH’s media has gone answered. CMH has not answered calls on Monday and Tuesday.

Although appointments for a doctor can be confirmed within a one-month timeframe as of present, it is still a substandard service at best. Nevertheless, it is still a significant improvement compared to previous years when patients remained in the queue without appointments for months on end.

Apart from diagnosing and prescribing medication for mental health patients, CMH also provides therapy. Services provided at CMH are fully covered under Aasandha for locals, therewith, free of charge.

With mental health issues on the rise in the Maldives, the biggest obstruction to addressing the issue is the long wait patients have to endure in order to seek treatment. Moreover, some patients are hesitant to seek help over stigmas surrounding mental health.

Other hospitals and clinics offer psychiatric services; most of them privately owned. However, a lot of people are unable to afford the rates of the services at these institutes.

Inception of a national mental health centre to expand mental healthcare services, and its coverage under Aasandha, is an electoral pledge of President Solih.