Once widely hailed, South Africa’s Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Plan 2013 – 2020 lapsed last year, with mixed reviews on its implementation from mental healthcare stakeholders
Dr Mvuyiso Talatala, board member of the SA Society of Psychiatrists, says provinces failed to implement the framework and points to an SA Human Rights Commission report published in 2018 that came to the same conclusion.
Robertson points out that it is not straightforward for officials such as directors, or even heads of departments, to know what exactly to do to implement the action points mentioned in the strategic plan section of the policy framework. She argues that the policy should have been accompanied by a detailed implementation plan.The policy acknowledged the shortage of mental health practitioners and that there was a need for additional training, but progress in this area also seems at best patchy.
“If nothing is done, this will pose a significant threat to the successful integration of mental health in primary healthcare in the future, where communities living in rural areas will bear the brunt.
She also points out that information gaps have limited our ability to develop rational approaches to planning for mental health reforms and argues that “provinces should be provided with technical support to translate policies into costed plans”.
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