Do you suffer from depression and anxiety and live in the archipelago? We tell you interesting facts about depression in Canary Islands and waiting lists to go to the Psychiatrist
According to data provided by the Government of the Canary Islands, 2.156 people in Canary Islands are waiting for an appointment in the specialty of Psychiatry at the Canary Health Service.
Tenerife is the island with the largest waiting list, with 862 patients, followed by Gran Canaria, with 797. The third island with the largest waiting list is Fuerteventura, with 415 people, followed by Lanzarote (53), La Palma (2.6 ) and El Hierro (3).
We were able to know the case of a woman diagnosed with a pathological duel, who since the beginning of summer is waiting to receive psychological attention and is forced to go to private specialists and buy medicines without the discounts guaranteed by Social Security.
Canary Mental Health Plan
The Canarian Government has a Mental Health Plan updated and approved last March 18 based on the accountability, accessibility, universality and free system.
According to data provided by the clinical psychologist and member of the Official College of Psychology of Santa Cruz de Tenerife Esther Sanz, in 2017, there were two specialists for a population of 150.000 people.
This specialist explains that to access the Mental Health area It is the attending physician who evaluates the situation of each patient and who will refer you to the relevant specialty. However, the General Directorate of Assistance Programs of the Canary Health Service has indicated that hospital emergency services can also make referrals.
Once the patient is referred to the relevant professional, he will consider if he needs Psychological Support. But the reality is that there are also many shortcomings in this area of health. Usually per center there are only two psychologists for every one hundred patients. In the community mental health units "there may be suicide patients at the window who are scheduled for appointment within three months."
Despite these revealing data, the truth is that In Canary Islandsthere is a strong investment in hospitalization and medicalization. According to the specialist Esther Sanz, “in the case of serious mental disorders, investments are made that can reach 1.000 euros per month in drugs, and a hospital bed is about 600 euros a day, but in psychosocial care the figures are much lower "
Even, sometimes, patients arrive medicated to the psychiatrist from primary care without having been explored by the specialist. "It's not the fault of the GPs, they look overwhelmed, with many patients with anxiety and depression and have no resources”Laments the specialist.
In the Canary Islands, depression is one of the most common mental disorders. “16,2% of people have a depressive episode at some time in their life,” according to the General Directorate of Assistance Programs.
El Canary Mental Health Plan reveals shocking data such as that 23,7% of the Canarian adult population has had scores suggestive of a mental disorder. Comparing by sex, women presented a higher prevalence than men (27,1% vs. 20,2%).
When comparing by islands and areas, the highest prevalences were in La Palma (29,6%), Tenerife (29,3%) and Gran Canaria (26,6%). The lowest prevalence was recorded in Fuerteventura (11,1%); Another prevalence significantly lower than that of Canary Islandsoverall was El Hierro (17%).
