Challenges for psychiatric health care for adults in Lower Silesia.

Abstract

The authors, in their study, refer to the changes taking place in Polish psychiatry under the National Mental Health Program (NMHP). They present their thoughts on the restructuring of psychiatric health care for adults in Lower Silesia. They refer to the European experiences described in the book Better Mental Health Care by G. Thornicroft and M. Tansella, and in the practical and scientific dimension - to the substantive premises, derived from demographic analyzes, epidemiological indicators obtained in the EZOP study, from Maps of Health Needs and other official statistics. Lower Silesia is the fifth voivodeship in Poland in terms of population, with four psychiatric hospitals in need of restructuring, a lower than the national rate of beds per 100,000 population and a relatively high rate of the so-called common mental disorders should be included in a targeted pilot project under the NMHP. In conclusion, the authors strongly support the fastest possible implementation of the community model of psychiatric services in Lower Silesia, indicating the methodology that should accompany the transformation process, the risks that may occur, but most of all, making people aware of the benefits that society should achieve in a human and economic sense.