On Tuesday 24 November 2015, Minister of Health of Luxembourg, Lydia Mustch, opened the conference for the 10th anniversary of the collaboration between the psychiatric care departments of Luxembourg hospitals.
The revolution of the the psychiatric landscape of the Grand Duchy began more than 15 years ago under the leadership of the Ministry of Health. In his introduction at the conference, Dr. Marc Graas of the CHNP stated that psychiatry has grown from a single centre in Ettelbrück to decentralised management through the opening of specialised services in the five general hospitals of Centre Hospitalier Luxembourg (CHL), Hôpital du Kirchberg, ZithaKlinik, CHEM and CHdN and through the development of an outpatient community.
In this regard, the new organisation and psychiatric teams faced several challenges, namely a new patient base, changes to management concepts and new structures. In order to respond to this, the care departments of the psychiatric services of Luxembourg hospitals began from 2005 to communicate and exchange with one another.
This collaboration became "the motor in advancing care in psychiatry," as stated by Wolfgang Reifenberg of HRS. It has allowed for the implementation of nearby psychiatry for the patient, the improvement of psychiatric care and the development of common projects.
"Ensuring in the shortest possible time, the best possible care, adapted to the individual needs of each patient with a mental health disorder, irregardless of their place of residence or the receiving hospital - this must be the overall objective of psychiatry in Luxembourg!" declared Lydia Mutsch during her speech.
The Minister then congratulated the working group on taking this significant step forward in the quality of care of people with mental health disorders.
Photo by Ministry of Health (Lydia Mutsch)
