For Ang Probinsyano Party-List Rep. Alfred delos Santos, establishing a state-run mental health hotline is the call of the times.
Santos recently filed House Bill (HB) No. 7210, which seeks to create a government mental health emergency hotline that the pandemic-weary public may access for immediate assistance and medical intervention.
The proposed law would also mandate the deployment of mental health workers in every barangay in the country so they may be able to reach more Filipinos in need of their services--the grassroots included.
“Mahalaga po na magkaroon tayo ng isang national emergency hotline na tututok lamang sa pangangailangan ng mga mamamayan sa isyu ng mental health para sa agarang pagtugon (Having a dedicated and responsive national emergency hotline for mental health issues is key)," the neophyte solon said.
“Lalo na ngayon sa panahon ng pandemya, maraming agam-agam, pagkabalisa at alalahanin dahil sa walang katiyakan kung kailan magbabalik sa normal ang buhay natin, higit na kailangan ng kausap at suporta ang mga tao (Especially in this time of pandemic--when there are lot of doubts, anxieties, and worries as to when our lives would go back to normal--people need support and someone to talk to)," added Delos Santos.
Under the proposed Accessible Mental Health Services Act, a dedicated hotline manned by mental health workers will be made available to the public, 24/7 nationwide for the purpose of consultation and emergency psychological response.
The Department of Health (DOH), National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will cooperate with each other for this endeavor.
An important component of the bill is the tapping of barangay mental health workers, through the efforts of city or municipal mental health professionals, to attend to Filipinos who need immediate medical assistance.
The National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) in Mandaluyong City recently reported that its crisis hotline received about 30 to 35 calls a day when quarantine restrictions were first imposed as a way to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
By the end of May, the monthly average of suicide-related calls the center received reached 45. In comparison, the average number of calls taken by NCMH prior to the lockdown was 13 to 15 a day.