Government addressing shortage of psychiatrists

The Ministry of Health said that it will be working towards addressing the shortage of psychiatrists, especially focusing on children and adolescents.

Next month the Ministry will be launching a consultation exercise leading to the National Strategy of Mental Health 2020-2030.

According to a report in LOrizzont yesterday, the Ministry said that there is a need to increase human and finance resources to improve the current situation in mental health services and to improve their quality.

There should also be a focus on the development of proper community services, and the workload of psychiatrists, so as to improve the standard of work and to decrease the risk of mental health workers experiencing a work burnout.

During a press conference held last week, the president of the Maltese Association of Psychiatry Nigel Camilleri had said that there are currently only 11 adults psychiatrists and 15 consultant psychiatrists, which when compared to what the International Standard recommends is extremely low.

According to International Standards, Malta needs around 50-60 adult consultants psychiatrists and at least 9 full time child psychiatrists.

Currently 1 in 10 children suffer from a mental health disorder before the age of 18.