Mental Health - National Plan 2024-2028 (PNSM)

The 2024-2028 National Mental Health Plan (PNSM) builds on the National Suicide Prevention Plan (2015-2019) with the aim of reinforcing the current mental health system, bridging any gaps and incorporating new approaches and innovative concepts validated in relation to healthcare. The plan's practical measures aim to improve people's well-being and mental health as a component of overall health.

The PNSM incorporates a total of 26 objectives, each including measures and associated actions in the following 6 fields of action.

1. Governance of the mental health care plan and system

The first field of action concerns implementation of the plan and management of mental health care at national level. There are 2 strategic impact objectives:

the bodies responsible for governance and the mental health care management process are solid and transparent;
the responsibility mechanisms and the resulting conditions lead to the development and transformation of mental health care.

2. Information system and research

The second field of action concerns the availability of data and information, research and the transfer of knowledge on the subject of mental health from research to healthcare practice in Luxembourg. This field of action pursues the following strategic impact objective:

the field of mental health has reliable and up-to-date data and uses information based on scientific evidence and knowledge.

3. Human resources and staff qualifications

The third field of action concerns the availability of mental health professionals and the quality of the services offered. This field of action pursues 3 strategic impact objectives:

the supply of qualified staff (specialising in psychiatric care, medicine and therapy) meets the needs of the population;
the turnover rate for qualified staff is acceptable and in line with that in other health sectors;
the acquisition of knowledge on health and psychological illness is facilitated for professional groups outside the field of psychiatric care.

4. Promotion of health and prevention

The fourth field of action concerns reinforcement of individual and social resources to protect well-being and psychological health. It also seeks to combat and contain risk in order to reduce and/or delay the appearance of the illness. This field of action pursues 3 strategic impact objectives:

the protection factors for achieving better mental health are reinforced throughout society;
the suffering linked to morbidity is avoided or reduced;
quality of life is preserved even in the case of mental illness.

5. Mental health care services and access to them

The fifth field of action seeks to reinforce care capacity at various levels and adapt the services available and access to them within the context of a development process tailored to the needs of decentralisation. The global model taken into consideration in this field of action is that of 'Community Mental Health' and 'Stepped Care'. The field of action includes 3 strategic impact objectives:

general access to information on the help currently available in the field of mental health and adaptation to the needs of users;
the care offered helps to cut morbidity resulting from mental illness;
the care offered helps to reduce mortality and suicide attributable to mental illness.

6. Vulnerable groups

The sixth field of action enhances the 5 previous fields and concerns the needs of groups or populations in specific, often difficult, situations, who are more vulnerable in terms of their psychological health. The aim of this field of action is to be able to identify inadequate or inappropriate care provided to these people and to avoid them slipping through the net. The field of action pursues 2 strategic impact objectives:

the inadequacy and lack of healthcare for particularly vulnerable groups of people are prevented;
the needs of particularly vulnerable groups of people are taken into account within the context of mental health and its development in Luxembourg.