5
send to the Court. Based on the above, the Court will not make any further comments
in that regard.
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15.
That as regards to the obligation to continue developing an education and
training program for individuals working in health care, psychiatry, psychology,
nursing, and for any person involved in mental health services, in particular, covering
the principles that govern the treatment of patients with mental disabilities, according
to international standards and the provisions of the instant Judgment (Operative
Paragraph No. 8 of the Judgment), the State reported on the progress made in the
transformation of the mental health assistance model. Furthermore, as regards such
training, Brazil held that:
i) the Permanent Human Resources Training Program for Psychiatric Reform,
which was established for better training of professionals in mental health, has
received new elements in 2007 and 2008, and is still under implementation.
The mental health specialization and update courses supported by the Ministry
of Health continue training professionals in the 23 Regional Centers for Mental
Health Training, which “are open to the participation of professionals from the
public mental health network, including also professionals from psychiatric
hospitals”. Moreover, the Multi-professional Mental Health Residence Programs
consolidated in the State of Bahía, Río Grande do Sul and Río de Janeiro, which
offer assistance to a large number of patients in psychiatric hospitals and in
Sobral, Ceará, and the first psychiatric residence was established, directly
supported by the municipal mental health network. These actions are essential
for the de-centralization of the training programs on psychiatric reform and to
increase access to training by mental health professionals;
ii) it established a Pro-Health Program through an agreement between the
Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education in order to review the curricula
of superior learning institutions, with the aim at adjusting them to public health
interests; it opened the Mental Health School of Río de Janeiro and the Open
University of the Single Health System (UnaSUS), which are aimed at training
new technical groups, and providing education and specialization to the staff
concerned with mental health care, and
iii) the Ministry of Health established the “Emergency Program for Broader
Access for Assistance in Alcohol and Drugs-related Problems”, which includes
mental health specialization and update courses, focusing on problems related
to the abuse of such substances. Additionally, in 2009, mental health training
courses were offered to “Family Health Program” professionals and those who
provide assistance in the northern and center-west regions of Brazil. These
courses have duration of 180 hours and will provide training to more than 200
professional in 2009.
Based on the foregoing considerations, the State requested the Court to formally
declare that the obligation to continue developing training and education programs for
professionals involved in the provision of mental health care has been complied with.