Daytime mental hospital model has provided much support in treatment for patients with mental disorders.
Daytime mental hospital model has provided much support in treatment for patients with mental disorders. Khanh Hoa Psychiatrics Hospital is the second unit to have developed the model, after Mai Huong Daycare Psychiatric Hospital (in Hanoi).
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| Patients get engaged in mushroom cultivation. |
Every day, N.T. T, Dien Khanh District, is taken to Khanh Hoa Psychiatrics Hospital to join the daytime mental hospital program where she and other patients are engaged in mushroom cultivation under the guidance of nurses. Suffering from schizophrenia for 5 years, the patient has been treated at Khanh Hoa Psychiatrics Hospital for 3 years. When in a better state of health, she is allowed for hospital discharge and advised to get medications from the hospital periodically. Her consciousness and emotion have much improved thanks to socializing and chatting since engaged in the model. “I’m glad and feel useful while I’m working. Now I have friends to talk to. I can eat food made from what I have grown such as mushrooms and vegetables,” says N.T. T.
N.CL, Nha Trang, has lived with schizophrenia for 10 years. He has become more active since engaged in the model. His mother named Nguyen Thi Loan says, “I’m so happy that my son seems to be eager and quite good at gardening, planting mushrooms and vegetables. I hope he will soon recover from the disease and return to a normal life.”
The model has been developed at the hospital since early August to benefit patients with mental disorder. They are instructed to get engaged in gardening, planting mushrooms and vegetables; or breeding fish. Every day, after their lunch at the charity kitchen, they can take a nap and then work until 16:00. Their products are sold to restaurants, hotels, etc. Their labor is recorded and they are paid for their products at the end of each month.
Many patients suffering from longtime mental illness are not likely to stimulate brain activity and physical exercises. They often feel inferior and useless as they can’t do anything for others. Therefore, when experiencing a shock, they will find hard to overcome and then their illness easily relapses.
Working can make patients feel inspired and comfortable; and increase their socialization and concentration abilities. They can recognize their values when they get paid for their labor. It is also a good way for doctors to monitor patients’ progress and ensure they maintain well by the mean of early identification. This is considered as the best therapy to improve patients’ health condition.
However, the model is quite new to many patients’ families. They do not fully recognize its benefits. Especially, those living in far away places such as Ninh Hoa, Van Ninh, Cam Ranh and so on, are not very interested in the program due to travel for a long distance to the hospital, according to Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, Vice-Head of the Therapy Department, Khanh Hoa Psychiatrics Hospital. “I hope the model will be developed in all districts and towns to benefit more patients,” adds Nguyen Thi Thu Huong.
The daytime mental hospital model is quite popular in the world. Under the program, every morning, patients are taken to the hospital to get medical care from doctors as well as take part in such healing activities as working, socialization, entertainment, etc, according Dang Duy Thanh, Director of Khanh Hoa Psychiatrics Hospital.
T.L
Translated by N.T
