BAGUIO CITY – The City health Services Office (CHSO) noted a significant increase in individuals coming out in the open and seeking consultations from health workers on the mental health issues that they are experiencing which is an indication on the awareness of the public on the available interventions being provided for such problems.
CHSO mental health and substance use program coordinator Ricky Ducas said that from the more than 300 mental health consultations that had been provided with the necessary attention from the office in 2023, it surged to 981 last year that is considered a good sign that people are now becoming aware that there are certain programs that help in catering to their concerns.
He claimed that among the problems of individuals seeking mental health consultations from the CHSO are depression, bipolar disorders, anxiety and schizophrenia.
The CHSO official said that most of those seeking mental health consultations are females and non-Baguio residents which is an indication of their awareness on the importance of the necessary attention from the health workers to prevent their situation from worsening that could lead to the occurrence of untoward incidents that might compromise their health condition or even their own lives.
On the other hand, he reported that in the case of those so-called medical refill or those individuals who are returning for consultations and those undergoing medications to ascertain their respective dosages, the same had drastically improved to over 600 percent which means that more individuals suffering from mental health issues are going back to seek medical advise for their treatment.
He disclosed that the CHSO has sufficient medicines for those suffering from mental health issues but what is important ant is for them to first seek the assessment of their conditions so that health experts will know what to prescribe and the frequency of their supposed return check up to prevent their situation from worsening that might lead to possible inflicting of injuries or eventual loss of life on the part of the patients. By Dexter A. See
