On 21 August 2024 the Government of the Slovak Republic approved the new National Mental Health Programme and the Action Plan of the National Mental Health Programme for 2024-2030. This strategic programme focuses on the development of mental health care systems in Slovakia.
The material presents a number of measures whose implementation is intended to lead to systemic and sustainable changes. The aim is to provide humane, modern and accessible care for all residents of the Slovak Republic. Conditions, mechanisms, measures and tools to promote mental health at individual, community and population level are planned and regulated by 2030.
Priority areas include:
- Support, prevention and early mental health intervention for all
- Availability, coordination, quality and sustainability of care
- Detigmatisation, inclusion, respect for rights and consideration of the needs of vulnerable groups
- Training, education and human resources management
- Research, evaluation and continued development of services provided
The national mental health programme defines the fundamental values and principles on which policies and services in this area should be built. The programme also analyses the state of play and proposes concrete measures to improve the availability and quality of services provided. The material prefers the principles of systemic, holistic and supra-sectoral approach to mental health issues, in order to adequately reflect the needs of the Slovak population and the requirements of service providers in this area, with the aim of ensuring equal access to mental health care as well as physical health care.
A novelty of this programme is the focus on senior and multidisciplinary care, which is based on the cooperation of experts from various fields. The programme focuses on the person as a whole, not only on its diagnosis, and supports the principle of graduated care from informal assistance to highly specialised professional institutional care.