Focus on mental health care
Hospital groups gear up to meet growing demand for treatment
SA's hospital groups are gearing up to capitalise on the country's growing mental health problems while the government grapples with providing adequate care for mentally ill patients. This month health minister Aaron Motsoaledi bemoaned the state of mental health care in the country when he addressed a Hospital Association of SA conference. "We are faced with the problem of exploding mental health care now; everybody knows that," said Motsoaledi. He questioned the effectiveness of SA having 575 psychiatrists out of more than 700 serving a small portion of the population in private health care, while the rest work in the public sector, including universities. "Is it not wise that all must be made available to the rest of the population? I thought it was common sense and I thought that was exactly what we are itching for when we talk about universal health coverage," he said. According to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group, one in three South Africans suffers from mental i...
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