By Desmond Hinton-Beales - 26th January 2012
We must discuss stigma
Antonyia Parvanova, MEP
The EU must do more to tackle the stigma experienced by those suffering from mental health problems, a European parliament discussion has heard.
The parliament interest group on mental health, wellbeing and brain disorders, co-chaired by Bulgarian ALDE member Antonyia Parvanova and Irish S&D deputy Nessa Childers, held a hearing looking at depression and care services.
"We must discuss stigma," said Parvanova, who also stressed that mental health should not be viewed as a "weakness".
The Bulgarian deputy said that the interest group had been working "very actively" on this issue and that most of the problems highlighted had been taken under consideration by parliament's committees.
The hearing opened with a video recording from former prime minister of Norway Kjell Magne Bondevik, who suffered from depression while in office in 1998 and opted to make his condition public.
Bondevik, who also managed to secure re-election as prime minister after his recovery, said that "mental illness is far more common than we think".
"Stigma is the main problem," he added. "We need more public engagement, education and access to smaller mental health institutions."
Chair of the expert platform on mental health Norman Sartorius said that there must be "increased awareness" of depression and increased education for those suffering from the condition.
Sartorius highlighted the disparity in available care between member states, before calling for improvements in "early diagnosis and treatment".
"Depressives and their families should be included in the planning and evaluation of services," he said, as the "general morbidity of the families of those with mental health problems is much higher than average".
"The EU must provide member states with information on depression", said Sartorius, who recommended "centralised information sources" and "an agreed European dictionary of terms used in description of healthcare professions".
Cyril Höschl, from the European Brain Council, said that depression represents a huge part of Europe's "economic and social burden", with brain disorders costing the EU €798bn per year.
Of this figure, 60 per cent are direct costs, with 37 per cent direct healthcare costs and the remaining 23 per cent made up of direct, non-medical costs.
"Absenteeism is the major source of the indirect costs of depression," said Höschl, adding that "all brain disorders are more expensive than cardiovascular and oncological diseases combined".
Jürgen Scheftlein, from the commission's DG Sanco, said that mental health should not be presented as a negative, but as a "necessary part of life".
Scheftlein said that the commission had been working on "thematic conferences that bring together EU level experts, national policymakers, stakeholders and NGOs".
"We're not looking at something legal, but coordinating member states in working groups", he said, adding that Eurostat is now collecting data on mental health to better inform the process.
President of the global alliance of mental illness advocacy networks Europe Dolores Gauci said that "patients are receiving a bad deal with their treatment".
"None of us can say we are free from developing depression," she said, before calling on the EU to tackle the "disparity in the equity of treatment".
"Patients must have hope," she said. "One third of people with depression recover, and one third of people still need some care, but are integrated into society."
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