The American Organization for mental health celebrates the month of May every year as the psychiatric health awareness month. Hospital 57357 pays great attention to children’s mental health, as it believes in its important role in responding to treatment, and the side effects of oncology drugs on the child’s psychological condition. In 2020, when the Hospital received the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, ASHP, accreditation to offer the resident clinical pharmacist program in the Middle East, it recommended the psychiatric pharmacist participation in the work team.
Chatting with Dr. Mohamed Makhlouf, psychiatric pharmacist in 57357, he said: “the psychiatric pharmacists are responsible for offering help to provide the ideal treatment plan to the patient, and educating healthcare professionals on how to provide care to mental health cases, in a simplified way, as these patients needs support in a different way. Regarding my role in 57357, I contact psychiatrists in case of any child with a psychiatric problem. I direct them to how to deal with the child regarding the types of medications he can take, and make them aware about the psychiatric side effects on the child with cancer. I also communicate with the patients to educate them about the medications, to ensure the abidance of all patients to the way and when they should take the different medications, and the necessity to report if they experience any side effects of the treatment.”
About the role of the psychiatrist, Dr. Taghrid Elshafei, head of psychiatric and spiritual support in 57357, reveals: “the child receives all aspects of integrated psychiatric care, and patient’s family members are rehabilitated to accept the way they must deal with their child’s illness, and accept the treatment decisions the doctor makes. We also deal with solving the problem of the child rejection of treatment, and his suffering from stress. At this point we interfere with regular medications, in cooperation with the treating consultant. In the psychiatric clinic in 57357, psychiatric service is provided to children, and psychiatric sessions are conducted on all levels. Coaching of all those in contact with the child is carried out, to enable them to offer him all ways of support.
It is noteworthy that Hospital 57357’s continuous education and development administration, which provides medical and nonmedical training programs for students, graduates and researchers in different specializations, offers for the first time the a training program for psychiatric and neurologic pharmacists, to create a pool of trained cadres in this rare specialty, which has an important role throughout the treatment and cure journey of the child with cancer.