CRI听力:Mental Health Workers Call for Better Treatment

The Ministry of Health says China currently has about 16 million people with severe mental disorders, but only about 20,000 registered psychiatrists.

Given that the number of mental health institutions and doctors lags far behind the need, lawmakers suggest increased government's spending on mental health, including raising workers' payment.

The Beijing Huilongguan Hospital is a leading public mental institution in the capital.

Deputy director Wang Shaoli says their income is relatively low compared to other hospitals.

"As far as I know, among the 21 hospitals directly under the Administration of Hospitals of Beijing, including general hospitals and specialized hospitals, the income of our employees is the lowest."

Currently, the allowance for medical care providers in mental institutions in Beijing is merely 30 yuan a month, which was according to a provision back in 1985.

It has not been raised since then.

Wang Shaoli adds that the low income leads to a high turnover rate, which may cause the hospitals to be short handed.

What's more, insiders point out that working in mental institutions is also of high risk.

A survey says over 330 out of the 1300 employees of Beijing Huilongguan Hospital were injured by the patients during the past five years.

Zhao Lijun works in Huilongguan Hospital for years.

She says the Hospital will give out a certain amount of compensation in an attempt to help with the recovery of the injured. But for those seriously injured or even handicapped, there is not really much the hospital can do to make up for their loss.

"Once, when a nurse was treating a patient, he suddenly jumped onto her back and the ligaments in her knee joints broke. She's no longer able to be a nurse, as it's difficult just for her to walk. Even though we compensated her according to the law and found her another job, it's not enough at all. For her, it was a heavy blow both physically and psychologically."

As such, deputy director Wang Shaoli says more needs to be done to better protect those injured.

"For the mentally ill, some have no relatives. It would be impossible for them to take liability even if we did claim damages. As far as I'm concerned, first, raise the payment for mental health workers in an attempt to protect them from high risk. Second, establish a system that allows the state to compensate workers who are injured by the patients. In that way, they can work without the worries."

After three readings, the mental health law is expected to take effect by the end of this year as the earliest.

For CRI, I'm Su Yi.