Move Forward MP Sirilapas Kongtrakarn broke into tears during a debate over the budget bill in parliament today, as she complained that the Public Health Ministry has ignored psychiatric patients, such as those suffering from depression, by allocating only a small budget to address this health problem.
Sirilapas came to public attention in September last year when a Bhumjaithai MP accused her of taking food home from the canteen, which was meant for parliamentary staff. She explained, however, that she did not steal the food, claiming that it was leftovers which would have been wasted otherwise.
Taking the floor to debate the Public Health Ministry’s budget, the first-time Bangkok MP said she feels that the government has attached more importance to patients suffering drug addiction than other psychiatric disorders, claiming that there are about 200,000 patients suffering drug related psychoses, compared to about a million with other psychiatric disorders, especially those who are suffering from depression, estimated to number about 360,000.
Citing studies on suicides by the Department of Mental Health, she said that nine out of ten people who commit suicide suffer from at least one psychiatric disorder, most commonly depression or alcoholism.
Despite the gravity of the problem, the MP said that the Department of Mental Health was allocated only 1.8% of the Public Health Ministry’s budget, adding that subsidies for programs to take care of youth suffering from psychiatric problems amount to only about a million baht. Also, there are no incentives for nurses working in psychiatric wards, prompting many of them to quit or to transfer.
The MP said that she used to suffer from depression and cut her wrists in a suicide attempt. She had spent several years in rehabilitation, before she finally recovered and was able to pursue a normal life and speak up for those who are suffering from depression. Then she began to cry.
