The Verkhovna Rada has adopted Law No. 12030 on the mental health care system. 233 MPs voted in favour.
Earlier, Mykhaylo Radutskyy, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on National Health, said that the law "proposes to create a modern, effective mental health system that will meet European norms and standards."
The document takes into account the experience of implementing the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Programme "Are You OK?", launched at the initiative of the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska.
The key provisions of the law include
- establishment of a National Commission to coordinate the provision of mental health services;
- introduction of certification of specialists to guarantee the provision of quality services to patients;
- establishment of self-governing organisations that will train specialists in the field;
- creation of a cross-sectoral service delivery system that will cover various sectors outside of healthcare, local government and the non-governmental sector.
The authors of the law also predict that the law will put an end to the work of specialists without the appropriate education. In particular, all sorts of fortune tellers, soothsayers, tarot readers, numerologists and fraudulent hypnotists who are used to seek psychological help.