It’s truly a real headache

Mental health patients find it hard to get referral letters

PETALING JAYA: Patients seeking help for mental health issues are finding it hard to obtain referral letters because many doctors do not recognise mental illness.

Gleneagles Medini psychiatrist Dr Abdul Kadir Abu Bakar ( pic) said the need to get referral to seek treatment for mental illness at government hospitals was due to the structure of public hospitals.

He said doctors at the primary health care level should be able to diagnose mental illness and prescribe medication.

Training modules on providing mental health are available to doctors, but are not compulsory for them.

“The World Health Organisation has the training modules, and so does the Health Ministry.

“Workshops are also available, but they are not mandatory for doctors.

“They should be made compulsory, considering the gravity of the problem,” he said, adding that these training modules should be made available to doctors online.

Dr Abdul Kadir, the former pre sident of the Malaysia Psychiatric Association, said the stigma of being labelled as mentally ill had also hindered people from seeking help.

Dr Muhammad Muhsin Ahmad Zahari, who is Universiti Malaya Associate Professor at the Department of Psychological Medicine, said general practitioners (GPs) had baseline knowledge in detecting general mental illnesses, but might lack the confidence and competency in diagnosing them.

“Focus is also another issue. Their focus is on physical illnesses, so unless patients disclose that they are struggling with mental health issues, doctors may not ask them about it.

“There are also constraints, in terms of time, to pose questions from physical illnesses to the patient’s sleep and stress problems.

“It takes courage for a doctor to do so, and the time limitation is always there,” Dr Muhammad Muhsin said.

He said GPs who want to equip themselves with mental illness treatment could sign up for workshops by the Malaysia Psychiatric Association.