The President of the Andalusian Government, Juanma Moreno, has emphasized the commitment of the Andalusian Government to mental health, its prevention, and early detection. This is evidenced by the fact that since 2021, 300 new staff have been added, increasing from 2,950 to 3,250, including 26 psychologists and psychiatrists as suicide prevention specialists for each Mental Health Clinical Management Unit, and another 26 professionals in units specializing in child and adolescent care. He stated that the ongoing goal is for all provinces in Andalusia to have Child and Adolescent Mental Health Hospitalization Units.
Moreno visited the Mental Health Unit of the Virgen del Rocío Hospital in Seville and affirmed that after remodeling works costing over one and a half million euros, this hospital is now a more comfortable, modern, and clinically effective place to provide the best care in the best environment.
«Here, individuals in a very vulnerable state are admitted, and these rooms, the courtyard, and the terrace provide positive elements for their recovery.»
He noted that following the refurbishment, this unit now has twenty-six beds in fourteen rooms, two of which are individual and the rest double, along with a spacious occupational therapy room and ten clinical consultation rooms.
The Andalusian President emphasized that this intervention has allowed all necessary areas of care for these patients to be incorporated into one place, avoiding transfers between locations to focus on patients requiring temporary hospitalization and experiencing an exacerbation of their condition.
In this regard, he stated that the result is a unit that resembles a small hospital within another hospital, with specific security measures including surveillance cameras for patient safety and nursing control, providing humane and quality care in a friendly environment.
Moreno touring the Mental Health Unit of the Virgen del Rocío Hospital in Seville.
He highlighted that one of the key aspects of this refurbishment has been the emphasis placed on open spaces such as the courtyard with vegetation, equipped with outdoor sports equipment, and the new playful outdoor terrace that provides more light and outdoor space for patients and their families, significantly improving the emotional and mental well-being, making the time spent away from their families or usual environments more bearable.
«In these spaces, they will be able to engage in play, relaxation, and group therapy activities. The courtyard and terrace make this unit one of the few to have these amenities on a hospitalization floor of a general hospital.»
Moreno indicated that the first patients from the San Lázaro Mental Health Unit will start to be admitted to this new unit, where urgent cases will be attended to, and after discharge, patients will continue their treatment within the thirteen Mental Health Units managed by the Clinical Management Unit for Mental Health.
Inside one of the rooms in the Unit.
He explained that this completed work is part of the Mental Health Plan of the Virgen del Rocío University Hospital, a plan aimed at adapting infrastructures to the current demand for care and modernizing facilities to provide more direct and humane care to patients.
The President of the Junta recalled that, since 2022, many other works have been carried out, including the renovation of individual rooms at the Children’s Hospital or the therapy room for eating disorders at the Women’s Hospital, as well as the external improvements and sports facilities at the therapeutic community and the Day Hospital for Mental Health at Los Bermejales on the Muñoz Cariñanos Hospital campus.
Additionally, he emphasized that this year, the differentiation of child and adolescent circuits has been completed at the Community Mental Health Unit in Sanlúcar La Mayor. «Mental Health care is one of the most solid challenges and commitments of this term. This is reflected in better facilities and more human resources, as it is the work of professionals that makes the difference.»
Juanma Moreno conversing with some of the professionals working in the Unit.
In conclusion, he added that the Junta is determined to continue making significant efforts in mental health care and to keep working to ensure that the people of Andalusia have the best possible public health system overall, an effort that, he assured, «has led us to equip ourselves with nearly 70 new infrastructures in the last six years, with an investment of 2.8 billion euros, including seven hospitals, five day hospitals, and up to eighteen health centers», alongside a Public Employment offering that approaches 22,000 new healthcare workers.
«In 2025, we allocate one-third of the Junta’s budget to the healthcare system, which amounts to 15 billion euros, clearly reflecting the priority we give to healthcare from the Andalusian Government.»
The event was also attended by the Managing Director of the Virgen del Rocío Hospital, Nieves Romero, and the Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs, Rocío Hernández.