- The Tláhuac General Hospital has the largest Mental Health Hospital Unit in the country within a second level hospital.
- The Purple Code is a stellar program of the ISSSTE.
- It currently operates in 27 general hospitals, 14 regional hospitals and the National Medical Center (CMN) “20 de Noviembre”.
This year, the State Workers Social Security and Services Institute (Issste) consolidated the largest network of mental health emergency care in Mexico and Latin America. According to its director, Pedro Zenteno Santaella, it was placed at the forefront by favoring an efficient, dignified service that adheres to human rights for beneficiaries.
To attend to these ailments, he explained that the Comprehensive Mental Health Program for the three levels of care and the first largest Mental Health Hospital Unit in the country within a second level hospital. It is located in the facilities of the General Hospital “Dra. Matilde Petra Montoya Lafragua”, in Tláhuac, Mexico City.
This specialized unit provides comprehensive and interdisciplinary service to beneficiaries with psychiatric pathologies in the acute or decompensated phase. It consists of 16 beds, therapy and rehabilitation areas. In one year, 200 patients were treated with protocols comparable to first-world centers.
The Health Regulatory Directorate specified that the Services are provided at all three levels of care throughout the country. While hospitalization to attend mental health emergencies through code purple it operates in 27 general hospitals, 14 regional hospitals and the National Medical Center (CMN) “20 de Noviembre”.
What does it consist of?
The fundamental tool applied by the Issste in this network of services is the Operational Guide for the comprehensive management of emergencies in mental health, code purplewhich standardizes protocols to effectively care for and channel patients in crisis situations, in accordance with the new mental health reform.
To offer the services, Issste trained more than two thousand primary health care workers and hospital service personnel.
From October 2021 to June 2022, 161 beds were set up for patients requiring care in the context of a mental health emergency So far, it has attended 386 cases with this pioneering and innovative implementation for the institute.
The person in charge of the Head of Psychiatry of the General Hospital “Dra. Matilde Petra Montoya Lafragua”, José Manuel Hernández Salas, stressed that having a code purple It is a great benefit for the Issste health system.
“Previously, patients with mental health problems had long wait times for care. Now, with the operation of this protocol, they have the option of receiving a fast and effective initial treatment. And if they deserve it, be channeled to the specialized hospital network, or referred to outpatient control in the psychology, psychiatry and rehabilitation outpatient clinic.
He detailed that the Purple Code guarantees that in each Issste medical unit there are general medical, nursing, social work, paramedics and stretcher bearers trained to identify, intervene and provide adequate primary support to an agitated patient or in a mental health crisis.
“Faced with these manifestations, the first thing we do is approach and actively listen to the patient’s concerns. Try to understand what is happening to him, treat him with empathy and understanding, ”he indicated. In 90 percent of cases, this first intervention is enough to restore the balance of the affected people, ensure their integrity and that of their families.
However, Hernández Salas explained, when it is perceived that these measures do not inhibit the condition of the affected person, and on the contrary, escalate their symptoms, then the Purple Code. In the case of the Tláhuac General Hospital, it is when specialized personnel such as psychologists, psychiatrists and neuropsychologists intervene, to provide other management options, such as pharmacological or, if it were the case and the patient deserves it, offer hospitalization for evaluation, diagnosis and control.
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