A deputy from Shanghai attending the 10th National People's Congress in Beijing has called for the faster enactment of a law to better protect and care for people with mental health problems.

"The demand for psychiatric services in China is soaring and that is why we want to accelerate the process of formulating a national law to protect people diagnosed with mental health problems and improve mental health services," said Zhen Huiqiang.

He said a harmonious society must attach great importance to mental health and the starting point would be a guarantee that psychiatric patients should have access to medical treatment and convalescence services.

China began to draft the law on mental health in 1985, and a 15th draft was prepared last year.

Zhen said Shanghai enacted a local regulation on mental health services in 2002, which is the first and only such regulation in China and could serve as a national model.

Liu Xiehe, a senior mental health expert, said it is very important to patients and their families that proper medical services are provided.

Liu has participated in the drafting of the mental health law from the very beginning.

"Unfortunately, more than half of patients cannot receive treatment either because the family is not able to afford it or because of scarcity of medical services," he said.

Despite the huge number of people now awaiting treatment, the number of qualified psychiatrists is only about 15,000.

Liu said more government investment is needed in mental health services, "for example, offering free care for patients as part of efforts to ease the burden on families as well as on society."

He said such problems have to be resolved through legislative measures, which would define the responsibilities of governments, hospitals, communities and families in providing quality services and financial support.

A growing number of Chinese are reported as experiencing mental health problems, though they are not severe in the majority of cases. Five percent suffer from at least mild depression and 13 out of 1,000 have mental health problems.

(China Daily March 8, 2005)