The Department of Mental Health (DGSM, for its acronym in Spanish) has among its general objectives "define, plan, implement and monitor public policies; coordinate actions with other jurisdictions and mental health centers and designing programs that promote rehabilitation and social reintegration of patients." But for all these functions the Auditor General of the City of Buenos Aires (AGCBA, for its acronym in Spanish) found that "there is no plan" for the period 2012-2016.

The importance of the mental health plan is that, in addition to "detailing the procedures and administrative resources", they "set objectives and goals to for long, medium and short terms." But this is not the only informality observed by the control agency of Buenos Aires in 2012. Although by decree "they had approved a new structure for the Directorate, it is still held outside the norm."

To this is added that "most of the programs are developed with staff that have no actual appointment in leading positions."

The Director justified the situation by stating that the approved structure was not realized with a sanitarian criterion and should be modified. The "programs contained Directors of Mental Health, to be dynamic, coordinators should not be leaders because they must allow modifications or eventually make way for new programs."

The report of the AGCBA, adopted in 2015, not only highlights the lack of a plan that defines where the DGSM is headed but "there are also no reports evaluating the programs implemented or meetings with the heads of the various Hospitals."

The budget, meanwhile, "has no claim to meet quantified or physical goals defined for all budget programs." Nor does it have records of actual demands.

To the Phones

The Directorate conducts two phone lines, the Mental Health and Answer Service Helpline on Drugs and Alcohol.

On the information they provide, the Watchdog noted that "they have only the data network of health centers of the City of Buenos Aires when they should also have the Province and the rest of the country.”


Program for Research and Epidemiological Surveillance in Mental Health

Since 2000 the Department must carry out that plan. Of the 31 hospitals 9 only reported a Program. In turn, of the 13,704 patients seen at these centers, the plan considered only 22%.

"Between epidemiological records, 3066 people attended," this is the 22%. However, according to the Ministry of Health 13,074 people were receiving assistance, representing "a difference of more than 10 thousand patients."

The report notes that the discrepancies are 54 people in the Argerich Hospital to a maximum of 4723 in the Rivadavia."

Scheduled Psychological Homecare Care Program 

This type of assistance has been working for more than 10 years. It provides care to patients in psychological or psychiatric crisis that cannot be mobilized in order to avoid hospitalization.

The request for home care can be done by asking any doctor in a health center and assessed the person for 72 hours. If you meet the criteria then they are addressed for 60 days or until the crisis is over, if not, they are referred to a health center.

On this mode the AGCBA found that "professionals have to move on their own" and that "there is no specific place allocated to the team." Usually they use a room "without computer equipment or work items."