Opinion: Deterioration Of Mental Health In Malta Is Very Much A Public Policy Issue
Recent global events have shone a spotlight on the fragility of mental health. So many of us have come close to issues related to our emotional and mental wellbeing; some manageable, others more daunting.
What was a taboo subject became increasingly more streamlined, with people acknowledging their fragility and many reaching out for assistance.
We experienced many NGOs stepping in and rising to manage a crisis within a very short span of time. Government eventually scrambled to catch up, quite late in the day.
Even employers recognised the need to support their employees’ mental wellbeing, causing requests for services to skyrocket. Social and more traditional media got flooded with hints of how people can take care of their mental health. The implicit message was that mental health is a personal issue.
In reality, individuals can go a long way in determining their mental health – through a healthy lifestyle. Haven’t we all heard about the importance of healthy eating, regular exercise, a schedule which balances work with leisure, and fostering meaningful relationships? All of these are known to contribute towards a person being mentally healthy.
However, it is unfair to stop there. It is unfair to load the responsibility for a person’s mental wellbeing squarely on to the person’s own shoulders.
Mental health is way more than a personal issue. It is very much a public policy issue, but we are missing the wood for the trees. With that said one might go as far as considering the obvious, and think of mental health services, particularly those offered through our national health system.
Admittedly, there has been some improvement over the past decades – but we are still ages away from comparable mental health services offered in other European Countries in the 21st century.
Locally, the number of mental health professionals are still far below accepted European standards, the range of services available still largely restricted, hospital services lagging far behind, available services overwhelmed with demand, and considerable waiting time, and specific cohorts, such as young people, still apparently missing from the services’ continuum.
At a time when people in Malta are experiencing serious deterioration in the quality of their mental health, our care services leave so much to be desired.
And yet, our biggest shortfall isn’t even that.
Local public policy is among the real causes of the reduction in the quality of life, the rising stress levels, and as a result, a contributor to the degradation in our mental health.
In the guise of progress and development, and an ever-growing economy, the government has rendered our country one huge and continuous building site, with ongoing roadworks resulting in looping detours, consistent traffic, severe loss in our natural environment, a serious lack of town planning that caters for (or dares to allow) any green open spaces, overcrowding with foreign people who are exploited to ‘serve’ us, but who also overwhelm our services and infrastructure.
A country which is losing its identity, not as a result of the foreigners – we have a history coloured beautiful with ample foreign presence – but as a result of a lack of a well-managed public policy which balances the demands of the economy, with the need for the common good.
All this is topped by a consistent stream of institutionalised fraudulent activity within the structures that are meant to protect us, and to ensure a secure and stable society.
The deterioration of the population’s mental health is a direct result of the stress, frustration, helplessness and hopelessness that have resulted from the way our country has been administered over the past few years.
Albeit Europe is admittedly not utopian, there are still quite a few leaves we can take from their books to improve the mental wellbeing of our country. I look forward to an opportunity to actively contribute towards a European process where people’s mental health is a public policy priority.
This action was co-financed by the European Union in the frame of the European Parliament’s grant programme in the field of communication. The European Parliament was not involved in its preparation and is, in no case, responsible for or bound by the information or opinions expressed in the context of this action. In accordance with applicable law, the authors, interviewed people, publishers or programme broadcasters are solely responsible. The European Parliament can also not be held liable for direct or indirect damage that may result from the implementation of the action.
Norma Camilleri is a PN candidate for the 2024 Elections for the European Parliament.