Mental health is an issue of concern among citizens. More and more recurrent, more and more known. There are numerous data that reflect a deterioration in the emotional and psychological well-being of Riojans, such as the consumption of anxiolytics or the increase in problems … detected in Primary Care. More incidence but a public health system that still maintains traditional deficiencies in mental health care.
More anxiolytics and antidepressants
One of the clearest data to illustrate this reality is the increase in the consumption of psychotropic drugs in La Rioja. In a decade, the average per capita dose of antidepressants, the most prescribed medication in its field, has grown by 36%, but so have antipsychotics (27%), hypnotics and sedatives (18%) and anxiolytics ( 7%). According to experts, this increase comes from afar and they allude to a medicalization of mental health. Greater attention, education and prevention seem essential to reduce this level of consumption.
24 psychiatrists and 17 psychologists in Seris
Currently, the Mental Health network is made up of 24 psychiatrists (six more than a decade ago), 17 clinical psychologists (four more), 44 nursing staff, 5 social workers, 2 occupational therapists and 101 assistants. The Rioja Health Service teams have been reinforced in recent years, although it still seems insufficient. While La Rioja had 318 registered psychologists (not retired) last year, only 5% of them worked in public health.
The third community with the fewest psychiatrists per inhabitants
In 2021, La Rioja was the third community with the lowest numbers of psychiatrists in the public system, with 7 professionals per thousand inhabitants, only above Extremadura and Murcia and very far from the national average, of 10.8, which is already in a more precarious situation compared to other community countries. La Rioja is also below the rest of the country in terms of clinical psychologists and very far from the European average.
31% more cases detected in Primary Care
The traditional lack of effects in the public system is encountering a growing demand for services by the population. Between 2016 and 2022 (the last year for which data exists), episodes related to psychological problems treated in Primary Care have increased by 31%, going from 141,728 to 186,600.
All of these issues also affect the most vulnerable population, who cannot afford the expense required for adequate psychological or psychiatric care in the private system, to which they may be forced. According to Primary Care data, people with very low incomes had twice the incidence of those with an income greater than 100,000 euros, a difference that has worsened in recent years. For example, 11% of the poorest had depressive problems, compared to 4% of the richest; differences similar to those observed in episodes of anxiety or sleep disorders, among other sections.
Almost 50% more hospitalizations
Also between 2016 and 2022, diagnoses due to hospitalization for mental and behavioral disorders have grown by 44%, exceeding twelve thousand per year. For example, alcohol-related disorders have risen from 1,108 to 1,978; those of anxiety, from 654 to 1,377 cases; those of personality, from 171 to 268…
