The Parliament of La Rioja has approved this Thursday the first regional law on mental health, which guarantees the right of people to consistent care in this area.
It establishes that, in the next 5 years, minimum ratios of 18 psychiatrists and as many clinical psychologists per 100,000 inhabitants will be reached, compared to the national average of 6 in the latter case, and 23 specialist mental health nurses will be hired.
The law for people with mental health problems and their families in La Rioja aims to guarantee the right to the protection of mental health through its promotion, prevention of illness, assistance, care, and rehabilitation of the users of mental health services.
It also includes people with mental health problems and those with psychosocial disabilities, as well as their families, through the creation of a legal and regulatory framework based on respect for human rights and guaranteeing access to care.
This impulse will extend to programs and activities of promotion, protection, and rehabilitation, as detailed in the new law, which advocates guaranteeing, through cross-cutting programs, the coordination of mental health care devices with other institutions and non-health care devices involved in community mental health care.
The President of the Government of La Rioja, Concha Andreu, indicated that this law seeks to avoid “normalizing the fact that so many people need medication to continue living” and that emotions such as sadness and fear “become pathologies and are stigmatized.”
In addition, she recalled that, according to the WHO, in 2030, mental health problems will be the main cause of disability in the world, and about 11 percent of the Spanish population consumes tranquilizers, relaxants, or sleeping pills.