Mental health

In May, the government published the psychiatry concept for comprehensive psychiatric care for the population, which had been planned for years and had long been called for by the state parliament and various specialist agencies. The background to this was the increasing mental stress in the population, which has risen sharply as a result of the Covid pandemic. Following a postulate submitted in the December 2023 session of Parliament, which called for the rapid completion of the concept and the implementation of immediate measures, the concept was developed in close cooperation with specialists, organizations and interest groups.

The psychiatry concept also included substantial measures for children and adolescents, such as the expansion of outpatient services, better use of existing capacities, cooperation with foreign providers, the creation of intermediate services as well as prevention and early detection. The Ombudsman's Office for Children and Adolescents (OSKJ) assessed the measures for children and adolescents envisaged in the concept as positive overall and welcomed the publication of the psychiatry concept as a basis for improvements, which it had set out in its 2023 position paper to the government.

In the reporting year, no significant progress was made on some of the OSKJ's key demands. There is still a need for the expansion of therapy places and bridging structures, the establishment of emergency management for child and adolescent psychiatric crises and comprehensive prevention programs.

The need for early detection and prevention of mental health problems in children and adolescents is also an urgent recommendation of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in its current report to Liechtenstein in 2023. It recommends establishing needs-oriented programs that reach disadvantaged children in particular.

 

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