Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population announced that 15,227 medical services were provided through outpatient clinics for geriatric psychiatry in hospitals and centers of the General Secretariat for Mental Health and Addiction Treatment, which number 24 centers and hospitals, across the governorates of the republic.
Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, said that the General Secretariat for Mental Health and Addiction Treatment organized a scientific day to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease, in cooperation with the “Alzheimer’s Egypt” Association, and in conjunction with the celebration of World Alzheimer’s Day, on September 21 of each year, at the headquarters of Princess Fatima Academy for Professional Medical Education.
Abdel Ghaffar added that within the framework of the ministry’s efforts to improve the quality of healthy life for the elderly, work is underway to equip a hospital for geriatric psychiatry in the medical city in New Alamein City, with a bed capacity of up to 120 beds.
For her part, Menan Abdel-Maksoud, Secretary-General of the General Secretariat for Mental Health and Addiction Treatment, pointed out that the activities of the scientific day addressed the importance of raising awareness of Alzheimer’s disease, how to reduce the risk of contracting the disease and ways to prevent it, and discussing the role of the caregiver in the patient’s life. The day also included introducing the latest treatment methods for Alzheimer’s disease.
Abdel-Maksoud added that the Department of Geriatric Psychiatry at the General Secretariat for Mental Health provides many activities and courses to train doctors, psychologists, social workers and nurses who care for elderly patients in the elderly and elderly women’s departments, to improve the efficiency of the service provided.
26 doctors, 25 nurses, psychologists and social workers who provide care for the elderly were also trained in 14 hospitals affiliated with the General Secretariat for Mental Health.
