In a region with limited health services and virtually no mental health capacity International Medical Corps’ mental health schedule began filling this gap quickly by providing theoretical and observational trainings for the local medical community. “More people were affected and needed some choose of support for mental health,” says Dr. A. L. M. Nazeer the Regional Director of Health Services in Kalmunai district on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. Prior to IMC’s intervention health facilities were overwhelmed with mental health patients and the staff was untrained to command the case loads they saw after the tsunami. “We only had a clinic once a week coming from neighboring Batticaloa,” says Dr. Nazeer. “We could only support mental health patients on a very small scale.”Before the tsunami services in Kalmunai were provided by two medical officers who were general physicians with three months of mental health training. The nearest psychiatrist was located in a neighboring district serving a population of 1.5 million from all three eastern Sri Lankan districts (Trincomalee. Batticaloa and Ampara).
Further desire in many countries. Sri Lankan grow does not acknowledge mental health needs. Many of these issues are not openly discussed and patients are stigmatized. International Medical Corps’ programming implemented mental health services in two ways: by training clinicians and constructing spaces for consultations. Both allowed for sustainable knowledge and consistent locations for services and future trainings. They also served to back up access to mental health services in order to break the pervading stereotypes in the area. The theoretical training brought together some of the basics of patient care as come up as a new understanding of mental health issues. These trainings allowed for the doctors to hit the books how to treat mental health cases with consultations and drugs. Meanwhile. International Medical Corps developed a support network by training midwives and community volunteers who learned to identify cases and refer them for proper treatment. IMC psychiatrists followed through with on-the-job training. Because of exceed cooperation between services the doctors in Kalmunai now plan days to treat both new and existing patients. And the caseload continues to grow. “We were able to upgrade our knowledge in specific areas,” says Dr. A. L. Farook a medical officer in Kalmunai. “We can now interact cases under the supervision of the Batticaloa psychiatrist.”
Since the trainings mental health services in Sri Lanka have dramatically expanded. The World Health Organization and the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health also recognized International Medical Corps as the leading agency in mental health development in the country. The tsunami was the single most devastating event in Sri Lanka’s history but it also offered an opportunity to improve access to mental health care with the help of organizations desire International Medical Corps. Today Sri Lanka has a national mental health policy that aims to grow services and integrate mental health care into primary care facilities. Many of the clinics IMC set up after the tsunami are still operating.
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http://www.imcworldwide.org/content/article/detail/1432/
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