Description
The project addresses the challenges faced by people with mental disabilities (lack of appropriate community services, public solidarity and coordination between the authorities). The project aims at introducing crisis cards as a tool allowing them to make decisions about their lives. First, 4 specialists at the partner’s mental service centre will be trained as trainers of the stakeholders. Second, several trainings will be organized for 4 mental health specialists, 18 policemen, 12 paramedics and 112 hotline operators, 9 psychiatrists, 9 GPs, 20 mentally disabled, 20 relatives of such people to work with crisis cards. Third, crisis cards will be introduced (counselling, preparation, update). Finally, 3 working groups will be set up to outline the rules of cooperation between the competent authorities. The project will benefit people with mental disabilities, their relatives and the other stakeholders. The partner will contribute with its expertise in introducing crisis cards.
Summary of project results
The project addressed the challenges faced by people with mental disabilities (lack of appropriate community services, public solidarity and coordination between the authorities). A crisis map was introduced under the project as a tool making it possible for people with mental disorders to express their will and preferences about the way they should be treated and about the important things in their life in the event of a mental health crisis. In the course of the 18 months available under the project, the project team managed to develop 101 crisis maps of people with mental disorders and 23 people with a mental disease underwent training devoted to crisis maps. The project activities were targeted at the development of a sustainable mechanism for coordination between social and healthcare institutions for the provision of quality care to people with mental health problems at time of a mental health crisis. The experience and the practical application of the model are described in a Guide with good practices that was developed under the project. The sustainability of the project results and deliverables will be ensured through the introduction of experience in social services run by the partner organization Global Initiative on Psychiatry Foundation, Sofia, and through the acquired experience described in the guide with good practices. In addition, a curriculum was developed and the competent authorities for guardianship and custodianship for the 24 administrative districts in Sofia City were trained with emphasis on the severe mental disorder and its consequences as well as the community-based resources for support. The project activities included training 48 specialists working with people with mental health problems such as the police officers performing detention, the staff of National System 112 Directorate, the Centre for Emergency Aid in Sofia, etc. The project was implemented in partnership with the Global Initiative on Psychiatry Foundation, Sofia.
Summary of bilateral results