Mental Healthcare in Hungary vs UK: How is it Different?
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In this article, we discuss the differences between the UK and Hungary’s mental healthcare systems.
In 2022, mental health is rarely out of the headlines, with many celebrities and even members of the British Royal Family lending their voices to campaigns to increase awareness.
Having these conversations about mental health is fundamental to ending the stigma. But, it is ultimately down to governments to provide adequate treatment and support. With an increase in cases of psychiatric negligence across the globe, below we’re going to look at how mental healthcare differs in Hungary vs UK…
UK Mental Healthcare
Mental healthcare in the UK is primarily accessed through the National Health Service (NHS) and is free of charge. The first step is usually to visit a GP who will then be able to refer the patient to a mental health specialist. UK mental healthcare is broken down into three separate categories, and these are:
3 Categories of Mental Healthcare in the UK
Primary Care
This first point of call is when a patient who is experiencing mental health difficulties will contact their GP. The GP will usually speak with the patient to ascertain the type of mental health problem and then, having made an initial diagnosis, will usually refer the patient to the relevant professional. In some cases, however, a GP may be able to prescribe medication to the patient in a bid to control the symptoms.
Secondary Care
A patient may be referred to secondary care if the problem is outside of the GP’s expertise and, types of secondary care include:
- Community mental health teams
- Crisis resolution teams
- Home treatment teams
- Outreach and early intervention teams
- Hospital care
Tertiary Care
This third level of mental healthcare may be required if the patient is experiencing extreme mental health difficulties and needs expert specialised treatment. This kind of care will often involve a hospital stay and will include intensive and prolonged therapies.
What is Being Done to Improve Mental Healthcare in the UK?
Whilst UK healthcare services may look good on paper, dig a little deeper and it’s often a picture of negligence and underfunding. One of the most prevalent forms of mental illness in the UK is dementia, something which affects over 850,000 people every year and which is devastating to sufferers and their loved ones who are often tasked with their care.
Despite a pledge to raise funding for dementia care from £83 million to £160 million, the UK government instead cut funding to £75 million this year. With dementia services being constantly overwhelmed, many patients are cared for by a loved one who receives just £69.70 per week. This is an insulting amount when, often, these people have to give up work in order to care for somebody.
As well as conditions such as dementia, severe mental illness is an increasing problem in the UK. Around 0.9% of the UK population suffer from some form of severe mental illness such as schizophrenia, psychosis and bipolar affective disorder (also known as manic depression).
Underfunding means that many of these patients do not receive the care that they need, when they need it and, in extreme cases, this can lead to violence, self-harm and even suicide. As well as posing a danger to the sufferer and those around them, this puts increasing pressure on the police service who, in 2017, received 9000 calls from just five mental health patients.
Hungary Mental Healthcare
General healthcare in Hungary is provided and paid for through the Health Insurance Fund, which is an insurance-based funding. This means that Hungarian residents pay annual insurance in order to receive healthcare.
Shockingly, there is no legislation to govern mental health services in Hungary. In 2009, legislation was passed for The National Programme for Mental Health, however, this has yet to receive any financing from the Hungarian government.