Mental Disorder Patients to Get BPJS Cards

The right to get proper healthcare is not merely a basic human right for normal people, but for patients with mental disorders as well. To ensure their rights fulfilled, West Jakarta Health Sub-Department will give Social Security Agency (BPJS) cards to 180 mental patients in Kembangan Sub-District.

We will give BPJS cards to ODMK and ODS , so they could get a good care and there would be no case of deprivation in our region

Head of West Jakarta Health Sub-Department Public Health Monitoring Section, Irma Rianti, said that based on data from Kembangan Sub-District Community Health Center, currently there are about 180 people who have mental health problems in form of neurosis, anxiety, bipolar, and delusions (hallucinations). These four types of diseases are usually characterized by high anxiety disorder or can be categorized as mild mental illness. As for severe mental disorders like schizophrenia, the number of people suffering it is still a few.

“ We will give BPJS cards to ODMK (People with Psychiatric Problems) and ODS (People with Schizophrenia), so they could get a good care and there would be no case of deprivation in our region ,” she stated, Friday (6/20).

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According to Rianti, not all people with mental illness suffer schizophrenia. Mostly only suffer mild mental disorder as a result of prolonged stress and depression. With BPJS card, the burden of patients and their families is expected could be reduced to get a good healthcare.

Meanwhile, Chairman of Indonesian Schizophrenia Care Community, Bagus Utomo, stressed that mental illness is a common problem which requires cooperation between the government and the community caring with mental health to educate residents about mental health and remove the negative stigma that has been growing.

“We have to remove the negative stigma against ODMK and ODS by educating the public about mental health. All this time, often there is a presumption that ODMK or ODS was connected with the occult that resulting in deprivation. That’s what we want to prevent,” he uttered.