Many families in Saudi Arabia live in a state of crisis because a member of the family is mentally ill. The number of Saudis with psychological problems has increased over the years despite government efforts to end this problem.
Four new psychiatric hospitals have been opened in the past two years and 12 more are currently under construction. However, these hospitals, together with the existing ones, are not enough to accommodate all of the mentally ill patients. The problem is that most efforts are focused on treating the disease rather than looking for its real cause. We will not be able to reduce the number of those who are mentally ill until we are able to deal with the causes of the disease.
Some medical reports attribute the causes to a lack of social justice and maltreatment in schools, universities, work places and society at large. However, the main cause of any psychological disturbance remains problems with the person’s upbringing at home.
According to reports of the World Health Organization (WHO), about 20 percent of the population of some countries suffers from psychological problems. Other reports, however, indicate that this figure might be as high as 30 percent in some countries.
The treatment of the mentally ill costs huge sums of money. In the United States, for instance, the treatment of schizophrenia alone costs $50 billion annually.
In Saudi Arabia, those who are mentally ill suffer more because of the lack of sufficient government or private psychiatric hospitals. Some people leave psychologically ill male members of their families on the street or lock them in underground rooms or uninhabited houses. There are not enough psychiatrists, especially in small towns and villages. Even in big cities, there are not enough beds for mental patients. For this reason, people have resorted to purchasing medicine from pharmacies without having obtained a doctor’s prescription. This illegal trade has actually become a flourishing business.
Schizophrenia usually strikes people by the age of 20. This is the age group which society depends on for its development. According to WHO medical reports, schizophrenia may also hit people under 40 while at work. This may cause them to make drastic decisions that may have an adverse effect on their work. Some of them may quit their jobs, only to become a burden on the government, society and their families.
Furthermore, about 75 percent of patients and 30 percent of doctors, do not know about the existence of the charter on patients’ rights. Being ignorant of the rights of patients, doctors may tend to abuse and maltreat them. We should, therefore, have laws and the regulations that preserve the rights of the mentally ill and punish any doctor who dares to violate them.
The lack of primary healthcare at home and school and in the work place may have a drastic effect on society. We will continue to waste money unnecessarily on the treatment of the mentally ill if we do not address the causes of the illness. We should provide our youth with opportunities to work, ensure them of social justice, and carefully monitor the behavior of schoolteachers, of superiors toward their junior staff and the performance of psychiatrists.
The government must encourage the private sector to invest in the establishment of psychiatric hospitals. The government should pay for the treatment of mental and psychological patients in these private institutions.
Schools and universities have thousands of psychologically ill students, but nobody is aware of this fact. Even if the concerned officials are aware of this fact, they cannot do anything about it, as long as there are not enough hospitals for the treatment of those who are mentally ill. There are also many government employees who are psychologically ill. This is a disease which is attacking our men, women and children. Something has to be done about it.
Abdullah Dahlan - Saudi Gazette
