Unemployment has been credited with the increase in the number of outpatients at Suva’s St Giles psychiatric hospital.
The hospital’s chief medical officer Dr Odille Chang could not provide the figures, but she confirmed that “we do know our outpatients are increasing”, with loss of jobs as one of the contributing factors.
Most St Giles patients are young adults between the ages of 20 to 30 years old.
“From 2005 to 2008 the cases has been increasing and more cases of depression seen now compared to the past. People are perhaps under more stress,” said Dr Chang.
Dr Chang also attributes the increasing number of patients to the campaigns being run on the kind of help available to deal with depression.
She added that outpatients figures from 2004 to 2008 increased by 50 percent following the awareness campaigns.
“You shouldn’t be ashamed if you have mental health problems. It’s like diabetes and asthma. You will go to a general hospital to treat these diseases. And if you are under stress, then St Giles is the place that you would come to,” said Dr Chang.
Dr Chang is advising people to seek help from Pacific Counseling and Social Services, which is now affiliated with the Ministry for Health.
According to Dr Chang, the youngest patient they treated was a 13-year-old boy with schizophrenic symptoms. They also have patients that are aged around 80 years.
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