SA’s society is aging, with attendant mental health issues on the rise, says professor
About three in every 10 South Africans older than 60 will need medication for mental health in the future. Prof Felix Potocnik from the South African Society of Psychiatrists (Sasop) said SA was one of the fastest aging countries in Africa ,but differentiated between normal aging and impaired mental health. "Often depression and dementia are under-diagnosed‚ overlooked and untreated in older adults owing to a variety of factors, which may include and/or overlap with other conditions and behaviours." According to Stats SA‚ mid-year estimates in June last year showed that the proportion of older people in SA had increased from 7.1% (2.8-million) in 1996 to 8.1% (4.6-million) in 2017. Potocnik is worried about the lack of mental healthcare. The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Health Observatory estimates there is one psychiatrist per 100‚000 South Africans and fewer in the public health sector. According to Potocnik there used to be five dedicated psycho-geriatric units at Sou...
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