Publications
- Increasing numbers of people in Gauteng are seeking mental healthcare services.
- The province has 169 clinics, which are the first point of entry to get access to mental healthcare.
- Access to mental healthcare services is guided by the Mental Health Care Act of 2002.
The Gauteng Health Department has seen an increase in people seeking mental healthcare services.
The department told Health24 that the Covid-19 pandemic and the country’s socio-economic conditions have contributed to the increased demand for mental healthcare in all its facilities. Access, treatment and care must be in line with the Mental Health Care Act, 17 of 2002.
If you seek mental healthcare through public healthcare, here’s how you can access their services:
- You can visit your local clinic. The department says that the point of entry to mental healthcare services is primary health service centres. Gauteng has 169 clinics that have mental health practitioners.
- The second way you can access mental healthcare services is through non-government organisations that work with the department. Depending on the type of organisation, some organisations offer counselling and referrals to facilities when warranted. The province has 145 licensed NGOs that provide care to mental health services.
- The next level of treatment for mental health is at hospitals that provide 72-hour assessments. Gauteng has 17 facilities that render this service. If patients are stabilised after 72 hours, they are discharged to continue treatment at community clinic level. They are referred to a general hospital with a psychiatric ward if they need further care.
- Healthcare practitioners at the general hospital, after assessment, determine whether a patient will need to be transferred to one of the four specialised mental health hospitals or not.
- Should a patient need medication for their mental health disorder, they should be able to collect their chronic medication from their nearest clinic.
Here's a list of clinics offering mental services in Gauteng.
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