Materia Medica Malaysiana

Half-way homes for mentally ill patients

KUALA LUMPUR July 23 - The Health Ministry will introduce half-way homes for mentally ill patients who are not suitable to be placed in mental hospitals.

Its minister, Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek, said the project would be implemented in 2006 under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) and was necessary to cope with mental patients having mental stress.

It was also hoped that the half-way homes would help those with mental stress to prevent them from having a tendency to commit suicide, he told a media conference after chairing the Health Dialogue 2004, here Friday.

Dr Chua also revealed a study by the ministry that found 13 percent of children aged between five and 13 were experiencing mental health problems.

He said the problems were detected when the affected children had difficulties in sleeping, refused to go to school, felt uncomfortable and experienced phobia.

"The percentage, even though small, is worrying enough," he said, adding that mental health problems, if left untreated could result in mental illness.

Besides that, Dr Chua said his ministry planned to set up a One-Stop Crisis Centre in all government hospitals to help rape and violence victims.

Dr Chua said the one-stop crisis centres were expected to be completed in two years but for a start, a centre were already operational in the Kuala Lumpur Hospital since the end of last year and had received a total of 75 cases to date.

He said all medical officers and supporting staff in government hospitals had been directed to give special attention to woman and girl patients, especially for rape and violence cases.

For easier treatment for Down Syndrome patients, Dr Chua said the patients would be issued a special card known as the Disabled Self Identification Card, which was hoped to help the patients to obtain early treatment and repeat treatments in any hospitals nationwide.