BAGUIO CITY – The Psychiatry Department of the Baguio General and Medical Center (BGHMC) is alarmed over the increasing number of individuals seeking interventions for suspected mental illness over the past three years.
Dra. Gwendolyn Cayad, BGHMC Psychiatriy Department Medical Specialist, said in 2013, there weremore than 9,800 persons who visited their department for consultations on their suspected mental illness before increasing by approximately 7 percent in 2014.
In 2015, she noted there was a 4 percent increase in the number of consultations for mental illness compared to the figures recorded the previous year.
“We consider the increasing number of people seeking medical attention from our department to be alarming. However, we are also happy because there is a growing awareness among the populace on the need to seek the appropriate intervention from our department to prevent further complications in their supposed mental illness,”Cayad stressed.
The BGHMC official pointed out the importance of seeking immediate medical attention for whatever illnesses they are suffering from to be able to be provided with the appropriate medical attention and avoid complications in their illnesses.
According to her, the BGHMC psychiatry Department remains open to individuals wanting to seek medical attention for their suspected mental illness for them to be given the appropriate advise and medication that will allow them to overcome such illness in the future.
Cayad admitted psychiatrists in the country are limited as they are numbering to around less than 500 that os why individuals must take the chance of seeking the proper medical advise from them to overcome whatever mental illness they are experiencing to be able to sustain their productivity in life.
Cayad revealed individuals suffering from regular sleep problems to already seek the advise and intervention of psychiatrists to ascertain whether or not such problems will be connected with probable mental illnesses that might worsen once not given the proper medical attention.
She added the BGHMC Psychaitry Department remains open to attend to the needs of individuals wanting to be diagnosed for their mental problems caused by depression among others, saying that individualsinvolved in the use of illegal drugs could cause serious mental problems for them in the future.
Cayad is optimistic that more individuals will be convinced to seek medical attention from the hospital to test them for the provision of medication once proven to be related to mental illness and prevent its further escalation that will translate to mental disorders in the future once their illness will not be given the right attention by experts.
By HENT
