Psychiatric cases up in Yolanda-hit Eastern Visayas

Psychiatric cases have gone up in parts of the Visayas hit by Typhoon Yolanda last year.

"It is increasing, ang karamihan dito is yung schizophrenia," Dr. Lyn Verona, chair of the Psychiatry department of the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center in Tacloban City, said in a "24 Oras" report aired Sunday evening.

"It is a thinking disorder," she said. She said it can be caused by genetics, the environment, and "other stresses in life."

In January 2013, the hospital recorded 512 psychiatric cases, a number that went down towards November, when Yolanda struck.

But cases have been rising again, from 227 in January 2014 to 370 the next month, to 475 in March.

Verona said this is evidence of the trauma caused by the typhoon and its aftermath.

She said most cases are from Samar, Leyte, and Biliran, adding many patients do not come back for further treatment or fail to take their medication.



The hospital only has three psychiatrists and the region does not have a mental health center to handle psychiatric cases.

Despite that, she said patients suspected of having psychiatric problems should be brought to the hospital immediately.

"Naku-cure naman agad, maski one week lang," she said, adding patients prescribed medication should complete treatment even if they no longer show signs of psychiatric distress. — JDS, GMA News