"Our Participation in Psychiatric Reform"
https://amarysia.gr/ebook/Iasis52
Mental Health enables people to develop their maximum spiritual and emotional potential, thus contributing to the well-being of society.
Mental illness weakens all the creative powers of the person suffering.
The treatment of the mentally ill, from ancient times to the last century, was unsuccessful to barbaric. The mentally ill were treated in an insulting and inhumane manner.
Family members and the state tried to hide the problem and the sufferer was led - at best - to hell, asylum-type, large Public Psychiatric Hospitals.
Greece was no exception, but with the identity of a member of the European Union and after the scandal of the Leros Psychiatric Hospital, which shocked the entire Greek nation and beyond, we were forced to promise that Psychiatric Reform would be a national priority.
After delays, backtracking and coercion, the implementation of programs provided for by Regulation 815/84 (EEC) began with the co-financing of the European Union and National resources for the acquisition of appropriate means and the implementation of new treatment methods.
With the issuance and implementation of Laws 2071/1992 and 2716/1999, the background and framework for a substantial Psychiatric Reform were created. Regulatory Provisions, Amending Legal Interventions followed and, having as a main axis the implementation of the rules of Community Psychiatry, the Ministry of Health has been implementing a comprehensive program of Reform of the Psychiatric Services of the country, a program of modern human-centered Mental Health services, for the last thirty (30) years.
In this gigantic modernization effort, the European Union has stood by us, providing financial support and expertise.
Today, most of the initial goals have been achieved.
The large Asylum-Type Psychiatric Hospitals either closed or minimized the number of patients, transferring the responsibility for caring for the mentally ill to smaller regional units. In the General State Hospitals, emergency Psychiatric Outpatient Clinics and Inpatient Departments for the Mentally Ill were created. New small flexible Mental Health Units were created throughout Greece: Day Centers - Mobile Units, Boarding Schools - Hostels, Protected Apartments undertook to deal with the chronically ill, who for a long time were "cared for" in Public Psychiatric Hospitals.
Ultimately, the patient's care was transferred outside the asylums, with absolute respect for his personality and as close as possible to his place of origin.
A strong network of services now regulates the operation of this entire system, in a way that convinces us that we are on the right path to implementing the Psychiatric Reform in Greece.
Of course, improving services is a daily struggle. But the constant goal is respect for the sufferer, clear recognition of their rights, and high-quality care for the sufferers.
It is a struggle that, morally, we owe to all those great people who passed through the degrading care spaces of the "Asylums".
We are participating in the implementation of a very important National Program and we feel that the leadership of the Ministry of Health and the relevant Deputy Ministry are close to us. Close to all of us, who are fighting for the implementation of it
