A growing number of psychiatric patients in the country are shedding light on Viet Nam's severe shortage of psychiatrists and poor medical facilities.
Social prejudices continue to hinder doctors to take up the profession, said director of the National Institute of Mental Heath Tran Huu Binh.

A study published by the HCM City-based Psychiatric Hospital this April reported that more than 10 million people in Viet Nam, accounting for about 12 per cent of the population, suffer from one of the 10 most common mental illnesses including anxiety and depression. Binh said the figure was alarming.

"Doctors and nurses with inferiority complexes toward mental illnesses has led to this shortage," said the deputy director at the National Psychiatric Hospital 2, Bui The Khanh.

Most graduates majoring in psychiatry turn to other medical fields because they don't want to work as a psychiatrist, said Khanh.

"People often hear about and admire doctors who operate on the brain, heart and stomach. Who cares about psychiatrists who work with ‘crazy people' every day? The thought scares psychiatric doctors and nurses. They don't want to be judged," said Khanh.

Psychiatrists make extremely low incomes. A doctor, who wished to remain anonymous, at the National Psychiatric Hospital 1 said she earned VND 1.5 million (US$75) per month after working two years at the hospital.

"With such a low salary, I'd rather be working as an assistant at a private clinic. It wouldn't relate much with my experience, but it would triple my income," she said.

It's not only doctors and nurses that have mistaken perceptions concerning psychiatry and psychiatric patients.

"It's essential that people understand mental illness," said Professor Binh. "The media has a responsibility to change citizens' prejudices toward the field and the illnesses that it treats."

Binh said people need to understand that mental illness is not only about treating "craziness." Psychiatrists treat anxiety and depression, which are increasingly common as more people experience stress at school, the workplace and with their families.

"We should promote better working conditions to attract more medical officers to work in the field," said Binh.

Viet Nam provides 19 treatment beds per 100,000 people on average, while the actual demand is about 30 beds per 100,000 people.

In Viet Nam, there is one psychiatrist for every 100,000 patients, reported the National Institute of Mental Health, however, it would be better to have one psychiatrist for every 30,000-50,000 patients, said Binh. The country needs about 900 psychiatrists to serve the minimum amount of patients effectively.

Meanwhile, national psychiatrist hospitals are distributed unequally nationwide. The five provinces that make up the Central Highlands, which is home to 5.1 million people, has one psychiatric hospital. — VNS