Mental health policy and service system development in the English-speaking Caribbean.

The countries and territories comprising the English-speaking Caribbean (ESC) have made some strides in the development of mental health policy, services and systems with the expenditure in mental health as a percentage of health budgets ranging from 1% to 7%. The ESC countries have well developed primary healthcare systems. However mental health legislations in many countries are in need of reform. Some countries have developed an innovative community based, secondary care treatment model: treatment in the medical wards of general hospitals. These countries have made progress in integrating mental health into primary healthcare and have made psychotropic medication widely available at the primary care level. Notwithstanding the progress in some countries, greater effort is required in phasing out mental hospitals and integrating mental health into primary care in other ESC countries.

Suicide attempt by self-poisoning: characteristics of suicide attempters seen at the Emergency Room at the University Hospital of the West Indies.

OBJECTIVE: To document the characteristics of self-poisoning suicide attempters who were brought to the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) Emergency Room and to outline the type of drug used in the attempt. METHOD: This was a retrospective study conducted over the period 2005-2009. Data were gathered from patients' case records, log books and the hospital records using a questionnaire developed for this study. The questionnaire examined demographics, parameters of the drug ingested, patient's disposition, and reasons for attempt, final outcome and the type of discharge of patients who reported to the UHWI Emergency Room due to a suicide attempt by self-poisoning. RESULTS: Over the five-year period, 127 cases of suicide attempt by self-poisoning were reported. Significantly more females than males presented to the hospital due to self-poisoning (3:1, chi2 = 33.37; p < 0.001). Of this amount, 96 cases (75.6%) were females and 31 (24.4%) were males. The age group most recorded was 16-30 years (70.8%). The most common reason for the suicide attempt was an interpersonal conflict (52%). The drug category most often used in self-poisoning was analgesics (52%) with acetaminophens being the most common (26.2%). CONCLUSION: These findings are consistent with global suicide trends and indicate an urgent need to develop and implement national preventative and treatment measures for groups known to be at risk of suicidal attempts.

Mental health policy and service system development in the English-speaking Caribbean / Políticas para la salud mental y desarrollo de sistemas de servicio en el Caribe anglófono

The countries and territories comprising the English-speaking Caribbean (ESC) have made some strides in the development of mental health policy, services and systems with the expenditure in mental health as a percentage of health budgets ranging from 1% to 7%. The ESC countries have well developed primary healthcare systems. However, mental health legislations in many countries are in need of reform. Some countries have developed an innovative community based, secondary care treatment model: treatment in the medical wards of general hospitals. These countries have made progress in integrating mental health into primary healthcare and have made psychotropic medication widely available at the primary care level. Notwithstanding the progress in some countries, greater effort is required in phasing out mental hospitals and integrating mental health into primary care in other ESC countries.

Los países y territorios que comprenden el Caribe Anglófono (CAF) han dado pasos extraordinarios en relación con el desarrollo de políticas, servicios y sistemas de salud mental, de modo tal que los gastos en salud mental en término del porcentaje de presupuestos de salud fluctúan entre el 1% y el 7%. Los países del CAF poseen sistemas de atención primaria de la salud bien desarrollados. Sin embargo, las legislaciones con respecto a la salud mental en muchos países necesitan reformas. Algunos países han desarrollado un modelo innovador comunitario para tratamientos de atención secundaria: tratamiento en las salas de los hospitales generales. Estos países han tenido progresos en cuanto a integrar la salud mental a la atención primaria de la salud, y han puesto la medicación psicotrópica ampliamente a la disposición del nivel de atención primaria. A pesar del progreso en algunos países, se requiere un mayor esfuerzo en cuanto a reducir gradualmente los hospitales psiquiátricos y acelerar la integración de la atención a la salud mental con la atención primaria en otros países anglófonos.