(Thanh Tan, Texas Tribune)
State health officials delivered a sobering assessment of mental health treatment in Texas, telling a Senate committee Wednesday that waiting lists for services have increased by 642 percent since September 2004 and that there is a severe shortage of psychiatrists and mental health workers available to treat patients.
Overall, nearly 10,000 Texans who have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder are waiting for access to treatment, though the number has decreased slightly since demand reached its peak in 2010.
“Sometimes, they have to go home and wait. Sometimes they end up not getting served and end up in the criminal justice system,” said Michael Maples, the assistant commissioner for the Department of State Health Services’ Mental Health and Substance Abuse division. He said patients are offered treatment based on the severity of their diagnosis.
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee’s nearly six-hour meeting is part of its interim work to reform the state’s mental health system. The committee is expected to come up with recommendations for improving efficiency and outcomes by the 2013 legislative session. (Read more at the Texas Tribune)
OTHER HEADLINES:
- 8 Injured After Tornado Touches Down in Colorado Co. (TX) (KHOU 11 News)
- 13 Harris Communities ID’d as Facing the Biggest Wildfire Risk (Houston Chronicle)
- Med Center To Test Flood Proof Doors (KUHF Public Radio)
- Running Notebook: Race Offers an Exercise in Charity (Houston Chronicle)
- Nobel Winner at State Cancer Agency Resigns (KTRK 13 News)
- Study: Teens More Likely to Die With Other Teens in Car (KPRC 2 News)
- FDA Panel Backs First Pill to Block HIV Infection (Houston Chronicle)