More than one hundred and a half participants were present at the 6st Mental Health Days at the Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve (CHUA), which took place on the 7th and XNUMXth of December, in the auditorium of the Hospital Unit of Algarve. Faro.
Organized by the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, these days aimed to provide “a space for reflection on various themes, with special emphasis on interventions in the acutely ill, in the community, in the geriatric age, as well as mental health in healthcare professionals , articulation with primary health care, Mental Health policies and challenges for the future”, explained the organization.
In the opening session, Ana Cristina Trindade, director of the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health at CHUA, highlighted the importance of holding these days as a “space for reflection on the past, present and future, which will contribute to the personal enrichment of all participants ”, thanking nurse director Mariana Santos for launching this challenge.
Mariana Santos, nurse director of CHUA, considered the day program very promising and highlighted the importance of investing more and more in the “promotion of Mental Health”.
Also Sofia Amálio, member of the Order of Doctors of the Sub-region of Faro, representing President Catarina Mendonça, highlighted the “preponderance of the issue of Mental Health among health professionals”, recalling the importance of being alert to the signs.
Paulo Morgado, president of ARS-Algarve, highlighted the need for “all of us to invest more in this area”, also alerting to the latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO) which indicate “suicide as the second cause of death in young adults” , with the “impact that these mental health problems have on society, being the main cause of incapacity for work throughout the world”. In this sense, he left the challenge of “investing more in prevention within organizations and providing greater access to mental health care for the population”.
During the two-day event, several professionals from multidisciplinary teams and guest speakers addressed the following topics: Mental Health Policies, Intervention for Acute Patients (Emergency and Inpatient), Community Intervention (Outpatient), Geriatric Age – interface of specialties, Mental Health in Professional, Coordination with primary and delegated health care and Challenges for the future. In addition to the debate tables, the program also included a practical aspect with “Relaxation” and “Health Communication” workshops.
In the closing session, Maria do Carmo Cruz, Regional Mental Health coordinator, and Ana Cristina Trindade, director of the Psychiatry and Mental Health Service of Faro, highlighted the quality of the work presented at the conferences and also highlighted the excellent work and clinical response capacity in the context of emergency, hospitalization or in the community, as well as the coordination with various entities and multidisciplinary teams, ending with a thank you to all professionals.
By way of conclusion, the quality of the communications presented and the contribution of these conferences to publicizing the work carried out by CHUA in the area of Mental Health were unanimously highlighted, with nurse director Mariana Santos demonstrating all her support for carrying out the second edition in 2024.
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