JEDDAH — There has been an increase in the number of mental patients in the holy city of Makkah in the last few years and to take care of them the ministry of social affairs has allocated SR65 million which will be used to build a sanitarium in the city.
| How 'bout another sanitarium for the people who visit? |
According to Dr Rajab Bersali, a psychologist, careful convalescing is essential for the proper healing of mental disorders or else there is the likelihood of their relapsing. Bersali said that sanitarium would also prevent the chance of mental patients being exploited by drug peddlers and other anti-social elements. He said according to available data, nearly 2,000 cases a month were documented in 2006, and a third of the total 24,000 mental cases during that year, involved women. |