National Center for Mental Health

National Center for Mental Health
National Center for Mental Health
Geography
Location	9 de Febrero St., Mauway, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines
Coordinates	14°34′53″N 121°02′37″E / 14.5814082°N 121.0436611°E
Services
Emergency department	Yes
History
Former name(s)	Insular Psychopathic Hospital; Mandaluyong Mental Hospital; National Mental Hospital;
Opened	17 December 1928; 96 years ago
Links
Website	ncmh.gov.ph

The National Center for Mental Health (Filipino: Pambansang Sentro ng Pangkaisipang Kalusugan), is a 4,200-bed psychiatric hospital occupying 47 hectares of land in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines.^[2] It is PhilHealth-accredited.

Due to its size and prominence in Mandaluyong, it is common (though insensitive) for Mandaluyong residents to be asked jokingly whether they live "inside or outside" the facility when mentioning their city of residence.^[3]

History

Formerly known as the Insular Psychopathic Hospital, the Mandaluyong Mental Hospital, and the National Mental Hospital,^[4] was founded in 1925 and opened on 17 December 1928. It was founded in order to accommodate the increasing number of mental patients and other patients with related nervous system conditions who, in 1925, were being taken care of by two hospitals, namely the San Lazaro Hospital (in its "Insane Department") and the City Sanitarium in the Philippines.^[5]

The insane asylum hospital was built under Philippine Public Works Act No. 3258 at a 46-hectare (110-acre) location in Barrio Mauway, Mandaluyong, Rizal near the City of Manila. Patients from the San Lazaro Hospital were transferred to the National Center for Mental Health in 1928. Patients from the City Sanitarium were transferred in 1935. The National Center for Mental Health is currently under the Department of Health.^[4]^[5]

With the increasing number of patients being admitted, the center has resorted to soliciting donations from private sectors.^[2]

Controversy

Controversy erupted at the hospital in 2012 because of the unexpected death of a 41-year-old male patient. The patient was confined in the hospital since 1998 due to paranoid schizophrenia attributed to drug abuse. The National Bureau of Investigation got involved, but the question remains whether the death was a medico-legal or homicide case.^[6]

References

^ "Memorandum Order No. 48, s. 1986". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. 12 November 1986. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
^ ^a ^b Shahani, Lila (18 March 2014). "Breaking stigma: The question of mental health reform". GMA News Online. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
^ Ortiga, Kara (October 13, 2017). "These four walls". The Philippine Star. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) (Mandaluyong City)". Wikimapia. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
^ ^a ^b "National Center for Mental Health: History". National Center for Mental Health. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
^ Calleja, Niña (4 February 2012). "Death at the Mental Hospital". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 16 December 2013.