DOH says agency working to improve NCMH situation
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health on Tuesday said the agency is working to improve the situation at the National Center for Mental Health after a senator sought a probe into the “tragic” condition of the facility's patients.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo filed a resolution seeking an inquiry into the condition of facilities at the government-run mental health facility in Mandaluyong City, and the quality of care and support provided to patients.
Tulfo also said he wanted to investigate the alleged corruption in the facility.
“We are open to the investigation, and we are trying to improve the situation and, of course, the convenience of our patients,” Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing.
Vergeire added that although the conditions at the NCMH have improved a lot, challenges such as congestion remain.
'Worse than animals'
Tulfo said that some patients at the NCMH slept on the floor without pillows, blankets and mats, and were packed like sardines in wards. The senator conducted a visit after receiving a tip from a social media user that patients there are being “treated unjustly or even worse than animals.”
According to Tulfo, the hospital’s Pavilion 8 — the building for female patients — smelled of feces and urine, which was made awful by the stink from garbage outside.
He added that Pavilion 4 — the facility housing patients with pending criminal cases — was cramped and lacked ventilation.
Pavilion 4 was built to house only 300 patients. It currently houses over 600 patients.
To decongest the ward, Vergeire said the DOH is already coordinating with the Department of Justice for the possible return of mental health patients to jail facilities.
The health official added that the department is constructing a new building to improve the condition at the pavilion. The first phase of the construction will be completed by the end of the month. Funds for the second phase will come from the DOH’s 2024 budget.
“We are going to improve on the points that were noted. Just give us a little more time because we’re waiting for this building,” Vergeire said in Filipino.
NCMH is the leading mental health care facility in the country, with an authorized bed capacity of 4,200.
Services offered by NCMH include general adult psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, women and children protection, and psychiatry emergency.
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