Public mental health in Spain: psychiatrist retires, next appointment not until October

A patient in treatment since 2005 has cycled through three psychiatrists and must wait until October for the fifth. Public mental health care is overwhelmed.

English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published

There is a patient who says he has been in the public mental health care circuit since 2005, with paranoia that will not listen to reason, and this year he was suddenly left without a psychiatrist: his retired, he has already seen three different professionals, and the appointment with the fifth one does not come until October.

The collapse of psychiatry clinics

This sequence lies behind many stories: the professional treating a chronic patient retires or moves away, nobody replaces them with any continuity, and the patient starts from scratch. In this case, the turnover has meant repeating his medical history, re-explaining symptoms and waiting months for a new assessment.

Some argue the problem is not just the shortage of professionals but the system's approach: the protocol is applied, a prescription is issued and the appointment is closed. The harshest criticism points out that psychotropic drugs "only patch things up" and fail to address the deeper meaning of the crisis. On the other side, it is pointed out that responsibility for treatment also falls on the patient, and that always blaming the system does not help break the loop.

The most unsettling fact is not the wait itself, but the sense of endlessness: a process that began in 2005 and, two decades later, is at exactly the same point.

Also available in: Deutsch

Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (47 replies).

More summaries

All summaries in English →

-
Back