Logroño, (EFE).- The Plenary Session of the Parliament of La Rioja approved this Thursday the Law for people with mental health problems and their families, which will seek to avoid “normalizing that so many people need medication to continue living” and that emotions such as sadness and fear “become pathologies and become stigmatized”.
This was stated by the president of the Government of La Rioja, Concha Andreu, just before the vote on this regulation promoted by IU took place, on the one hand, of its explanatory statement, approved with the votes in favor of the PSOE Group and the IU deputies, Henar Moreno; and not attached, Raquel Romero; and the abstentions of the PP and Cs.
On the other hand, the rest of the law has been approved with the votes in favor of the PSOE and Cs groups, as well as the deputies Moreno and Romero, and the sole abstention of the PP.
Andreu stressed that “it is time to move from debate to action with attention to these problems, which is already a priority for the La Rioja government, which has incorporated social workers into the mental health department and has just approved a detection protocol suicidal behavior in schools.
Bet on education
He has highlighted the importance of “betting on education as the best way to prevent addictive behaviours, especially those related to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and drug use among youth”.
This law establishes that in the next 5 years minimum ratios of 18 psychiatrists and as many clinical psychologists per 100,000 inhabitants are reached; and 23 specialist mental health nurses, compared to the current average of between 6 and 7 psychologists per 100,000 inhabitants.
The spokesman for the PSOE Parliamentary Group, Raúl Díaz, has highlighted that “four out of ten Spaniards negatively evaluate their own mental health, and two weeks ago the Ministry of Education of La Rioja detected seven suicide attempts in the classrooms of the system educational”.
“Is it necessary in this region to have a specific mental health law? We believe so, because much of the mental health problem has to do with how it is dealt with, and, currently, it is not preventively, but through the medicalization of daily life”, he has had an impact.
For her part, the people’s deputy María Martín has explained that she does not understand “why a law of this magnitude must be processed urgently, aimed at people of extreme fragility and when, if there is something important, it is the debate, study and serene development”.
“We cannot accept telling society that in 5 years the number of (mental health) professionals will increase fivefold, and we are not lying to society three months before the elections,” he stressed.
The deputy of Cs Pilar Rabasa has indicated that “the ratios that have been included are very far from what can be achieved in La Rioja, despite the fact that a period of 5 years has been established.”
In his speech, Moreno described the Grupo Popular’s reasons for abstaining as “slightly low-paying”, and he reproached this party for “being against the ratios so as not to commit to hiring the necessary professionals”.