RIYADH: Khaled Marghalani, the spokesman for the Ministry of Health, has said that 16 new psychiatric health and drug addiction hospitals are to open across the country, with one new 500-bed facility in Riyadh. Marghalani said the SR350 million-facility in Riyadh will work in tandem with Al-Amal Mental Health Complex and will bring the number of beds for mental health patients in the capital to1,000. The moves, he said, are part of concerted efforts by the Ministry of Health to improve the treatment of psychiatric diseases and addiction, and the 16 new hospitals will each provide a further 200 and 500 beds, bringing the nationwide total to 4150. “Most of the hospitals, which will also treat drug addicts, are nearing completion,” Marghalani said. “The ministry already has 20 mental hospitals with 2811 beds across the country, along with three specialized drug addiction centers. There are also 94 clinics at the hospitals for psychiatric illnesses and addiction.” The hospitals, he added, are staffed by 627 psychiatrists, 406 psychiatric specialists, 724 social workers and 3025 psychiatric nurses. “There is a widespread social stigma surrounding mental,” Marghalani said. “Patients should not be subject to such a myopic view and should have their illnesses regarded in the same way brain diseases.”
