Treatment in the Centre

Currently, the state institution «Republican Research and Practice Centre for Mental Health» is a specialized treatment-prophylactic health care organization that provides high-quality treatment-diagnostic, rehabilitative and preventive aid, mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment services for the population of the Republic of Belarus, as well as organizational and methodological assistance for treatment-prophylactic institutions of the republic on the issues of psychiatry and narcology.

Basic treatment-diagnostic and rehabilitative care is provided in 34 medical wards. The capacity of the Centre is 1782 beds of psychiatric and narcological profile. In the Centre there are psychiatric departments with total number of 1460 beds: 10 psychiatric departments (for men) with 600 beds, 9 psychiatric departments (for women) with 540 beds, two geriatric departments (for women and for men) with 110 beds altogether, one department for treatment of mental disorders due to epilepsy with 60 beds, two psychoneurological departments with 100 beds, one dertmant for the disabled due to WWII and people equated to them with 30 beds, infectious diseases department with 20 beds. Two psychiatric departments (for women and for men) are departments for the first-episode patients. Also the Centre has 40 beds (20 male and 20 female) for depressive patients with suicidal tendencies – departments 29 and 5, respectively.

In the 10th ward on a functional basis the number of beds is increased for the treatment of anorexia nervosa. Medical-advisory and research work on eating disorders is held with assistance of the Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology of Belarusian State Medical University Prof. Skugarevskiy O. A.

In addition, there are specialized departments in the Centre: the psychiatric department for treatment of tuberculosis patients with 30 beds and two departments for younger patients: for children of 3-14 y.o. – 40 beds, and for children of 15-18 y.o. – 50 beds.

Substance abuse treatment is provided in 4 narcological departments with the total number of 190 beds, 75 of which are the beds for patients who need emergency aid.

In the structure of the center there is a department of anesthesiology and resuscitation with 12 beds.

Treatment-diagnostic work in the Centre is organized in accordance with the requirements of the Protocols of Diagnostics and Treatment of Mental and Behavioral Disorders approved by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus.

There are 15 additional units in the center: reception department, clinical and diagnostic laboratory, physiotherapeutic department, medical rehabilitation department, functional diagnostics departmnet, X-ray examination department, hyperbaric oxygenation department, consulting units of therapists, neurologists, dentists, ENT specialist, gynecologist, surgeon and ophthalmologist.

A complex of diagnostic examinations includes laboratory examination of varying degrees of complexity in which the most modern equipment is used, methods of instrumental diagnostics including computerized electroencephalography with topical identification of lesion focus, methods of experimental psychological diagnostics, etc.

There is also a wide range of paid medical services for people with addictions and other mental disorders.

Much attention in the Centre is paid to the rehabilitation of patients. Rehabilitative work is being done both in medical departments and in the medical rehabilitation department under the supervision of experienced professionals.

Since 01.01.2006 psychological services were restructured with an increase in the number of psychologists in the staff (to 33 positions) and an introduction of these positions to almost all medical departments. In accordance with the new staff list, since 01.01.2007 the positions of psychotherapists are introduced in the Centre. Adding a sufficient number of psychologists and psychotherapists to the staff allows introducing a progressive biopsychosocial approach for rendering specialized care by multidisciplinary team of specialists to the work of psychiatric and narcological departments.

The Centre provides the clinical base for departments of psychiatry, narcology and medical psychology of Belarusian State Medical University and Belarusian Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education. Leading scientists of the country in the field of mental health and research workers of the both departments are actively involved in treatment and diagnostic processes, they promote the introduction of modern methods of examination and treatment of patients.