Between the two tragedies, in which 23 people died, the mental health unit of the Cetinje Health Center provided more than 11.000 services to fellow citizens, and the psychiatrist and psychologist received up to 20 patients per day.
This was the response to "Vijesti" from the Cetinje Health Center, when asked about the capacities and number of services provided from August 2022 to January of this year.
"The Mental Health Unit of the Cetinje Health Center has three staff members - one psychiatrist, one graduate psychologist and a nurse, and provides all services to insured persons, provided for the primary level of health care, pharmacotherapy, and support. The number of staff members in all services is determined by the number of insured persons and in accordance with the by-laws that regulate the field of health care through elected doctors," the Health Center states.
They say the unit sees around 20 patients a day, while 12 services were recorded from August 2022, 1 to January 11.444 of this year.
Ten citizens of Cetinje lost their lives in a mass murder in August 2022. On the first day of this year, a Cetinje resident Aco Martinović He killed 12 people and wounded four, one of whom later succumbed to his injuries at the Clinical Center of Montenegro (KCCG). After the crime, Martinović committed suicide...
When asked what they were doing to strengthen mental health services in Cetinje, as well as in other municipalities, the Ministry of Health told "Vijesti" that they had undertaken a number of concrete activities after the tragedy.
"In cooperation with the associations of psychiatrists and psychologists of Montenegro, we have organized teams for psychological support to families, as well as to all those who were in any way involved in the events in Cetinje. The teams are available to all citizens of Cetinje every day from 19 am to XNUMX pm, and for all those who need help even after the aforementioned period, health institutions from Cetinje organize sanitary transport to the KCCG, in order to provide health services," the response states.
They remind that an SOS telephone line for psychological assistance and support has been established for all those in need after the tragic event in Cetinje, thanks to the engagement of the Psychiatric Clinic of the Clinical Center of Montenegro and the Association of Psychologists, with the technical support of Telecom, which approved the number 1555 for this purpose and, in cooperation with other mobile operators, enabled calls from all networks to be free. More than 40 psychologists and psychiatrists respond to calls from citizens in need of advice and psychological support.
"In addition, they are also assisting the psychiatric and psychological service in outpatient work, in two shifts, where, together with their Cetinje colleagues, they provide services at the Health Center, every day from 19 am to XNUMX pm. This form of assistance and support to the citizens of Cetinje and the Cetinje Health Center will continue in the same way throughout this week, while plans are being made for the further pace and modalities of providing assistance," they said.
The Ministry of Health emphasizes that support has been provided to teachers so that they can recognize changes in behavior in students and know how to help them, and they will also work on self-assessment of feelings and levels of stress.
"At the beginning of the semester, the first day of school and the first classes of students in Cetinje's primary and secondary schools will be reserved for conversations between psychologists and class teachers and students. Support will also be provided in all schools in Montenegro, where psychologists work. These activities will take place in schools, and individual support will also be provided to children, students, teachers and parents," the Ministry claims.
The department says that the Program for the Improvement of Mental Health in Montenegro for the period until 2026 is in its final phase, with which they plan to strengthen the capacities of mental health centers by increasing the number of psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers, and training of staff on new therapeutic techniques and tools for trauma management is planned.
"Also, priority areas have been defined, primarily the promotion of mental health and prevention of mental disorders, improving capacities for early diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of the mentally ill, reducing the number of hospitalizations and rehospitalizations of psychiatric patients, respecting and protecting the human rights of people with mental health disorders. In addition, activities such as: promotion of mental health, destigmatization campaigns, prevention of violence and peer pressure, programs for adolescents, support for children from families at risk, etc., will be implemented, and the establishment and strengthening of assertive and psychogeriatric teams in all mental health centers is planned," the Ministry's response reads.
Find a solution for some patients from Dobrota
The Ministry says that in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography, a solution must be found for the significant number of patients who have been in the Dobrota Special Psychiatric Hospital for years, some even for decades, because they have nowhere else to be, although the newly opened Psychiatric Clinic in Podgorica will significantly relieve the capacity of the Kotor Hospital. They also claim that the construction of a hospital for court patients should free up a large number of hospital beds in Kotor.
"By opening a new facility for the Psychiatric Clinic within the KCCG, which is equipped with modern equipment for diagnostics, therapy and patient monitoring, we are strengthening mental health capacities and contributing to ensuring that every person, regardless of their challenges, feels that they are not alone and that there is support. Our goal is not to stigmatize mental difficulties, but to recognize them as an integral part of life, as something that can be faced and overcome. It is particularly significant that for the first time in Montenegro, a Children's Psychiatric Clinic has been set up to take care of this most vulnerable population," say the Ministry of Health.
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