Overview
- The Health Ministry unveiled a draft to revise the National Mental Health Law at the 39th Argentine Psychiatry Congress in Mar del Plata, replacing the “certain and imminent risk” test with a situational assessment to allow earlier intervention.
- The proposal also adds specialized psychiatric hospitals back into the care network, requires an interdisciplinary review before discharging voluntary inpatients, places a legal duty on families after discharge, and sets six months of judicial follow-up to support treatment adherence.
- Leaders at the congress said the public mental health system is in crisis due to thin budgets, low pay that forces multiple jobs, staff burnout, and unprecedented vacancies in public institutions.
- Buenos Aires officials reported a 77% rise in public psychiatric hospitalizations since 2019 and warned the draft lacked prior consultation, could create barriers to care, and would shift more burden onto psychiatrists.
- The ministry said it has begun technical meetings with provincial teams from Mendoza, Misiones, and Neuquén to explain the project and gather feedback as debate continues at the congress.