How to support mental health care at the local government level? On March 4, the Pomeranian Mental Health Team initiated its new term! Prof. dr hab. Małgorzata Lipowska from the Faculty of Social Sciences of the UG will sit in the advisory body of the Pomeranian Voivodeship Board.

‘We want to be as close as possible to the child and their problems. The main task of the Team is consolidation and interdepartmental cooperation. While the Pomeranian Voivodeship is a pioneer in this respect, we can still do a lot. We want to strengthen the good cooperation between the various centres and also set new goals. We are talking, for example, about situations where a child after a suicide attempt is admitted to a paediatric ward and then has to be transferred to another ward or facility to receive adequate help - and what about care after leaving the hospital?’ says prof. dr hab. Małgorzata Lipowska. ‘One of the biggest challenges is to provide children in crisis with proper support as early as possible, already at school - the availability of a psychologist early enough and getting help could prevent the escalation of difficulties and the need for hospitalisation, psychiatric or even neurological treatment. Without the support of educational institutions, it is not possible to help the child and his/her family. Counteracting the escalation of problems requires the consolidation of many educational and healthcare activities.’

The team supports the Self-Government of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, among other things, in the development of the ‘Pomeranian Mental Health Programme’. It comprises experts from various fields, including psychiatry, education, psychology, social assistance or government administration.

The appointments were presented to the members of the Team on March 4 by Agnieszka Kapała-Sokalska, Member of the Pomeranian Voivodeship Board. ‘Congratulations on your appointment and thank you that the Voivodeship Self-Government will be able to benefit from your knowledge and experience. I wish you every success!’ commented the councillor of the Pomeranian Voivodeship Assembly.

It is worth mentioning that prof. Małgorzata Lipowska is involved in many initiatives related to the organisation of mental healthcare. She currently serves as the Pomeranian Voivodship Consultant for Clinical Psychology, and in August 2022, she was appointed to the team of the then Minister of Health. At the University of Gdańsk, prof. Małgorzata Lipowska headed several projects, including 'PROgram for the Development of the University of Gdańsk' (ProUG), one of the goals of which was to increase the quality and effectiveness of education and comprehensively prepare students to enter the labour market.