Such a decision is being considered by the Ministry of Health as part of a new phase of the mental health system reform. It is planned to unite psychiatric hospitals (in Chisinau, Balti, Orhei) and the Republican Narcological Dispensary into one legal structure.
“This will provide a much more comprehensive approach to patients with addictions and mental disorders, since in most cases it is impossible to separate the causes and treatment approaches. I am sure that such a merger will have an extremely positive effect,” shared Ion Prisekaru, state secretary of the ministry.
The reform also envisages the creation of psychiatric beds for emergency care locally, in district hospitals.
“An analysis is now underway with profile specialists to determine how many beds are needed in each institution – depending on demographics and morbidity rates. This will make it possible to avoid situations when patients with urgent conditions have to be transported to Chisinau or Balti – they will be able to receive help at their place of residence,” the ministry’s secretary of state said.
The system has already partially switched to the new model: 40 communitarian mental health centers are functioning in the country – one in each district. They help to ensure the social integration of patients. From July 1, it is planned to change the mechanism of their payment in order to build a more efficient model by 2027.
Mental health is one of the Health Ministry’s priorities, Prisekaru said. Reforms in this area began in 2014 with the support of the Swiss government and the Netherlands Institute for Mental Health and Addictions Trimbos: “Above all, it is about a significant paradigm shift: from institutionalizing patients to a social model focused on their integration and inclusion in society.”
