Long-awaited Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit opened in Szeged

At the opening ceremony, the Chancellor of the university, Judit Fendler said that the new unit of the Department of Paediatrics had been completed after a long period of preparation, with the university partly covering the costs of the project from its own resources, in addition to EU funding. Besides its unique mental health services, the centre will also serve as a teaching and research facility and will receive patients from all over the country.

Prof. László Rovó, the Rector of the university, said that the complex is filling a void in health care services, and he also highlighted that the building had been designed, purpose-built and furnished for children, not for adults. He pointed out that in a world where even adults are finding it difficult to navigate, there is a great need for an institution such as this one. He also noted that among other things, the building would focus on mental health problems resulting from drug abuse and family breakdown.

The building attached to the Department of Paediatrics has a rather modern design with its large glass surfaces. The basement houses the outpatient and nursing units, day care rooms, including group and social therapy rooms. On the upper ground floor, there are activity and recreational units with some consulting and therapy rooms and a gym for movement therapy. On the first and second floors, there are 18 wards, 10 of which have en-suite facilities and 2 are fully accessible. Most of the wards are double rooms. Two single rooms are equipped with high-security behavioral health beds to address a full range of patient safety and clinical needs to cater for juvenile patients with special needs, high-risk, disordered or abusive behaviour, drug abuse or other causes. The remaining two wards offer multidisciplinary care. The third floor houses a seminar room for training and education purposes.

Dr. Csaba Lengyel, President of the Clinical Centre, said that children and adolescents with mental illness are extremely vulnerable. Surveys show that in developed countries, 20-25% of children and adolescents suffer from emotional and behavioural disorders, and 5-6% have very severe symptoms. The aim of the project was to provide early access to care and to tackle regional inequalities.

At the inauguration ceremony, Prof. László Rovó, Rector of SZTE, said that the psychiatric centre completes the service block of the paediatric department, whose building was erected after the arrival of the university in Szeged. The brand-new Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit will provide optimal conditions for the treatment of psychological and psychiatric problems.