Thread by @Ali_Madeeh

My thread from early 2018 popped up on my TL. Even more relevant today. #COVID__19 #MentalHealthMatters

Thread on #MentalHealthAwareness

Approximate number of psychiatrists in Pakistan is around 400 (yes. That's not a typo). 70-80% of these live in or around large cities.

It works out to about 1 psychiatrist/500K people. International standard is 1 psychiatrist for 10-15K people. There are almost no recognized Psychiatry sub-specialty training programs in Pakistan in psychiatry which means we are not training

We are not training any child/geriatric/addiction/forensic psychiatrists. In addition, many psychs are over 55 or 60 meaning they will retire soon. @WHO
has predicted a sharp rise in the incidence of depression and mental illness over the next decade (this is Pre-COVID)

We are making no plans for it. In addition, there are next to no quality psychiatric hospitals for admitting patients, no trained psych nurses. Most of the burden of caring for these patients is still borne by families but as extended families start to splinter,

very few resources available. Quality psychotherapy services are even harder to find. A session with a competent therapist costs anywhere from 4000-8000, weekly sessions needed (at least 6-10 or more) out of the reach of most patients and families.

Public hospitals are in a shambles with waiting areas looking like railway stations (literally). Huge crush of patients many of whom travel hours from out of town. Few meds available and next to no psychotherapy services. The entire system is breaking apart.

And this was before COVID19 added a huge additional burden of mental health issues to our already existing woes including catastrophic economic and social stressed onto an already vulnerable population.

We need to declare a #mentalhealthEmergency now!

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