Driven by recent community incidents, hospital leadership at The Medical City Clark (TMCC) is scaling up proactive plans to expand and strengthen its mental health services, bridging a critical healthcare gap in the region.
At News@Hues media forum of the Pampanga Press Club, TMCC head nurse Bernice Bernardo said that the institution is laying the groundwork to broaden its reach through specialized medical conferences hosted at the facility.
“That’s one of our projects. It’s rampant na po (mental health issues). That’s one of the things we really need to focus on,” she said.
She noted that recent community problems that were attributed to mental health are “high alerts.”
At the media forum held at Park Inn by Radisson Clark, Bernardo said that they currently have two in-house mental health specialists at TMCC.
Hospital Director Earline Borlongan said that dealing with mental health is a sensitive topic as she noted a strong cultural stigma in Philippine setting.
“No one will talk about mental health. That is why more people would rather go counselling via telehelp. No one will go to the hospital and say im depressed. No one will go to the doctors and say help me because i’m too depressed and i’m too stressed,” Borlongan said.
TMCC is actively evaluating local needs and invites public input to tailor upcoming service developments effectively not just in mental health but also on many medical needs.
The post TMCC eyes more mental health initiatives amid recent community issues first appeared on Pampanga News Now.