FUNDANEED.es
Faced with the increase in cases related to mental health affecting children, adolescents and the elderly, which in some dark situations lead to self-harm, the president of the Junta de Castilla y León (the regional goverment) wants to open a major debate, dialogue and participatory process to improve care.
Fernández Mañueco today announced the immediate creation of a Detection and Alert Network for mental health problems in order to prevent this type of situation and to act quickly, in a coordinated and personalised manner in the event that it should occur.
This new Detection and Alert Network will include, among other measures, the following: more educational professionals – who will be responsible for detecting these cases and acting quickly in all schools in Castilla y León; mental health professionals as liaison and reference points in all Health Areas of the Community to intervene more quickly and effectively without having to go through Primary Care; new day hospitals for Child and Adolescent Mental Health and for adults; specific care for the elderly through Advanced Telecare with specialised operators, and a new social service for Comprehensive Care for Families.
Alfonso Fernández Mañueco explained the characteristics of this new Detection and Alert Network for self-harming behaviour, a tool with the participation of the Departments of Health, Education and Family and Equal Opportunities, at the headquarters of the Presidency of the Regional Government.
Characteristics of the new network
Its first objective is to reinforce prevention and early detection of cases. To this end, it will increase the number of specific staff in all public and state-subsidised schools with students between the ages of 10 and 18. The aim is for this increase in staff to be operational next academic year, reaching a ratio of 250 students per guidance teacher in two years’ time, compared to the current 400 students. At the same time, and in parallel, the time availability of the coexistence coordinators will be improved.
For the elderly, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco informed that the Junta de Castilla y León will be able to set up a suicide prevention programme through Advanced Teleassistance. People at risk will be accompanied and supported by specialised operators and technicians who will assess their case and quickly activate the services that each person needs.
President Mañueco also announced that before the summer the Comprehensive Family Care Service, MediaCyL, will be operational to prevent and tackle family cohabitation problems. This service will be provided throughout the Community by professionals who will cover all the provinces from the offices in Burgos, León, Salamanca and Valladolid.
Alfonso Fernández Mañueco also informed that all Health Areas will have a new coordination figure, “the liaison and reference mental health professional”, who will advise the centres and institutions that detect cases in order to intervene in them as quickly and efficiently as possible and, depending on their risk, will help to refer each case to the most appropriate resource in the quickest possible way.
Always at the side of those who suffer
The president of Castilla y León has indicated that the regional government will reinforce resources in 2023 with three new Day Hospitals for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, which will offer the best treatment to minors without interrupting their relationships or their lives. There was one in Valladolid and a new one has just come into operation in Salamanca. Now the Junta will be able to set up two more this year, in Burgos and León, and will also complete the network of adult day hospitals.
All these measures, said President Mañueco, are complemented by new guidelines and protocols for action with more training for professionals; for adolescents from educational centres, primary care and the third sector; and with social awareness campaigns.
Significant presences
The event included several speeches, in addition to that of President Mañueco, and was led by Diana Gutiérrez, head of FEAFES communication in Castilla y León.
María Tránsito Martín de Castro, Principal of Claudio Moyano Secondary School in Zamora, spoke on behalf of the educational centres of the Community. Antonio Fernández Moro, Technical Director of Organisation and Access to Social Services; Soraya Geijo Uribe, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at the University Clinical Hospital of Valladolid, and Ana Isabel Castaño Villarroel, Community Mental Health Nurse in Zamora, also took part.
The event was also attended by a significant number of authorities with expertise in the field. In addition to the Castilla y León regional ministers of Health, Family and Equal Opportunities and Education, and the heads of the Psychiatry Service of the Community’s healthcare complexes, representing the professional associations were Jorge Arévalo Ferreras, president of the Clinical Psychologists Association of Sacyl; Vicente Molina Rodríguez, vice-president of the Castile and Leon Society of Psychiatry, and Begoña Becoechea, representative of the National Association of Mental Health Nurses.
On behalf of the professional associations, José Luis Diez Villarig, president of the Council of Medical Associations of Castilla y León; Enrique Ruiz Forner, president of the Council of Nursing Associations of Castilla y León; and Jaime Gutiérrez Rodríguez, president of the Official Association of Psychologists of Castilla y León were present.
Also present were Elena Briongos Rica, president of FEAFES, and Laura de la Torre Fernández, its vice-president; Pablo Gómez Conejo, manager of the INTRAS Foundation; and Pilar Samaniego de Tiedra, president of the Fundaneed Foundation.
Before concluding the event, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco stressed one idea: the Junta de Castilla y León will always be at the side of all those who suffer. They will always have all the attention and support from the regional government, the president remarked, and will be helped to overcome these difficult situations that can affect us all.
Source: Communication / Junta de Castilla y Léon
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