Several mental health patients discontinue their treatment because the treatments are very costly and lack health insurance coverage.

The Federal National Council has released a report in which it is shown that lack of insurance coverage also puts the burden on patients and their families as they bear the huge cost of treatment.

The Chairperson of the FNC Committee on Health and Environmental Affairs and the second deputy speaker of the FNC, Naema Abdullah Al Sharhan, told the full details of the report. The report stressed the problems faced in treating mental disorders among children because the psychiatric clinics are very few.

The final parliamentary report entitled “The Ministry of Health and Prevention’s policy on promoting mental health in the UAE” was made by the Health and Environmental Affairs committee.

Al Sharhan stated in the report that the committee has talked about the mental health situation in three aspects, including the policy and strategic plans of the ministry for making policies and legislation on mental illness.

“The panel held 13 meetings to discuss and examine the issue of mental health. During the meeting, it met representatives of the governmental and local health sectors to learn about the services given in the field of mental health, the challenges they face in this regard, and means for coordination and cooperation with the health authorities involved in providing mental health services,” expressed Al Sharhan.

She further said the committee also arranged an online panel discussion on the topic, “Boosting Mental Health in the UAE” to determine the biggest challenges encountered in the field of mental health promotion, whether the kind of assistance provided to psychiatric patients or problems faced by mental health workers, in addition to understanding the importance of community awareness of these services.

“The committee also led a field visit to hospitals affiliated with local management to see their experience. Members of the committee also met with representatives of the Ministry of Health and Prevention to respond to the committee’s queries on the matter of promoting mental health.”