site.btaPsychiatry Clinical Pathway Introduced for First Time

For the first time, a clinical pathway for psychiatry will be introduced and the treatment of affective disorders and schizophrenia will be financed by the National Health Insurance Fund, Bulgarian Deputy Health Minister Michail Okoliyski said here on Thursday.

He was speaking at a national conference on the link between mental health and gender-based violence, organized by the Animus Association Foundation and the World Health Organization Office in Bulgaria.

In Okoliyzki's words, schizophrenia often requires hospital treatment rather than being handled in abnormal and appalling conditions and without psychotherapy. "A solution to this problem has finally been found," the Deputy Minister said. He reported that an interdepartmental committee on combating gender-based violence has been set up but, in his opinion, governments have been too short-lived in recent years, and this hampers a sustained effort. 

He singled out the lack of consistency in tackling all forms of violence, despite the availability of good practices, concerned mayors, police officers and psychologists.

Okoliyski argued for the need of health education to be taught at all schools and of a promotion of the importance of taking care of children's mental health. In his words, health education is provided for by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, but only the Council of Ministers has adopted a plan for its introduction. The Deputy Minister regrets that this education was not launched with the new school year on September 15 and hopes that this will happen in the foreseeable future. 

"Some progress has already been made in combating gender-based violence, good proposals and practices have been singled out, and challenges identified. The proposal for a EU Directive Proposal on combating violence against women and domestic violence and the Protection against Domestic Violence Act are part of this progress," Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel said at the conference. Through the regulatory amendments, Bulgaria has clearly declared its commitment to implement and finance special measures and programmes for prevention, protection, assistance and support to domestic violence victims or people at risk of domestic violence.

The participants in the national conference will hear to-the-point ideas and proposals resulting from the work of an interdepartmental expert workshop on ways in which the State can address these matters in educational institutions, health and social services, the organizers said.