Mental health centre for post-Covid patients opens in Hungary

Even after a successful recovery from the coronavirus, various physical and mental symptoms tend to linger on over time. Such issues are grouped under the umbrella term “post-Covid syndrome”. The Nyírő Gyula National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictions is the first to open a department specifically for outpatients suffering from mental health problems.

Rehabilitation from the coronavirus does not end with the successful defeat of the virus by the immune system. Many are unable to fully regain their health and have complaints that are of both physical and mental nature. Concerning physical symptoms, shortness of breath, loss of smell and taste, and palpitations were the most commonly diagnosed, while mental symptoms may include depression, anxiety, and mood disorders. Hungarians are found to be particularly prone to mental illness and the critical situation takes its toll on everyone, regardless of the level of emotional stability.

Needless to say, it is essential to take mental issues just as seriously as somatic ones. The Nyírő Gyula Institute established a department to offer medical assistance for post-Covid patients who experience long-term psychiatric disorders subsequent to the infection. Appointments can be made from the 2 April by contacting Szabolcs Kéri, the general-director, whom Index interviewed about further details. Kéri said that nearly 30% of those who had contracted the coronavirus developed some sort of mental condition.