COVID-19: Saudi Arabia launches programme to address mental health illness
Psychological and Moral Support scheme to help people during pandemic
Abu Dhabi: When it comes to life post-pandemic, some people feel it won’t be the same with the biggest worry being mental health.
Being positive for COVID-19 can have a stigma attached to it and this could affect peoples behavior and lead to somatic problems.
To address mental health illness today and beyond especially healthcare workers, the Saudi Health Services Programme at the Royal Commission in Jubail has launched a Psychological and Moral Support programme to help healthcare employees at the Royal Commission Hospital, adapt to work stress and provide psychological support in times of difficulties.
Khursan Al Mukhlis, head of the emergency ambulance services department, the founder of the programme, explained that the programme is a medical clinic based on support and mutual benefit for health practitioners and administrative staff, to share experiences and skills and help to adapt to work stress and provide psychological support to them in times of difficulties.
Dr. Khaled Al Abadi, head of the psychiatry department added that the programme is supervised directly by the psychiatric department and includes consultant doctors, specialists, social service specialists and psychiatry.
“It is offered through a fully private medical clinic that helps employees find appropriate solutions to their health issues as a result of the psychological pressures they face during their work period,” he added.
He said stress behaviour for many, many people brings a lot of problems and we have to be careful in dealing with them.