According to Mr. Mady Samuels, senior policy developer at the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport"these periodic trend reports consist of high-quality work, particularly on account of the expert analyses of all available data and the accessible way in which the trends are described. Once again, it seems Trimbos is the place for this kind of report!"
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More pressure on the mental health servicesEvery year a thick pile of reports appears on the mental health services (GGZ). It is not feasible for policymakers to plough through all of these. For this reason, in 2008 the Trimbos Institute commenced publication of its annual GGZ Trend Report, which contains an analysis of the main developments in mental health. |
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In the 2008 trend report, the first section - ‘Organisation, Structure and Financing’ – looks at issues including system reform in the sector, outlining the new legislation and regulations as well as their possible consequences. Clearly the new system has changed the dynamic. Organisations have to compete with each other and are developing in different ways. The GGZ can therefore no longer be seen as a uniformly organised sector. It is not yet clear how the new financing framework will pan out in the long term. The report therefore includes a number of possible future scenarios. read more >> |
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The second section– ‘Access and Health Care Use’ – concludes that the GGZ mental health services are “reasonably” accessible for people with mental health problems. The more serious the symptoms, the greater the likelihood that a sufferer will receive care. However, waiting times for care are getting longer on account of the rising demand for outpatient services. In order to reduce the pressure on secondary mental health care, it is recommended that also people with more serious problems should be treated at primary level. This will leave more scope for second level mental health services to deal with complex psychiatric problems. The third part of the trend report– ‘Quality and Effectiveness’ – contains preliminary national figures about effectiveness, safety and client centeredness in the GGZ. 70% of mental health clients report having a better grip on their problems since receiving treatment. 75% are satisfied with the treatment received. And 94% consented to the treatment plan. There are still insufficient national data on safety; more research is required in this area. The trend reports can be downloaded free of charge at www.trimbos.nl.
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What kind of misery is ‘normal'?“Is it the responsibility of the GGZ to seek happiness for people? Senior researcher, Frank van Hoof, believes this question will be heard increasingly frequently. Is the role of the mental health services to deal with all the unhappiness in society? Or should we prioritize help for people with more serious and intractable mental problems? To translate this into policy options, the question is: do we invest in further expansion of ‘lightweight’ mental health services, or in improving the quality of ‘heavy duty’ care?
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