Ronnachai Kongsakon, deputy chairperson of Ramathibodi Hospital's Department of Psychiatry, yesterday said psychiatrists at many hospitals were experiencing a surge in the number of patients they were handling.

And a lot of the problems were directly related to exam results and the government's struggle to get them right, he said.

Hundreds of thousands of students have had problems with university admissions because of the fiasco. Many have still not got their results and cannot apply to their preferred universities.

Dr Ronnachai said a lot of parents had turned to psychiatrists, pushing waiting lists at is hospital out to as long as three months.

"The problems are causing tension for both parents and students, but generally teenagers don't often come to see psychiatrists, so their parents come instead," the doctor said.

Most of the parents, as well as their kids, are fed up with the situation that has left them worried about the future, he said. Some students have become so depressed they have given up and turned to private universities instead.

Mental Health Department director-general Somchai Chakrabhand said more and more parents and students were calling the mental-health hotline - 1323 - seeking medical advice because of the past two harrowing weeks.

The department's officers are gathering information about the increasing number of callers so they can cope better with the influx.

"We try to help parents come to terms with what's happening, because when the parents can cope with the situation, they can help their kids," said Dr Somchai.

Dr Bandit Sornpaisarn, director of the Galya Rajanagarindra Institute of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, said teenagers rarely admit they have a problem or consult doctors, so their parents turn to doctors instead.

He said teenagers dealing with depression or tension generally complain of problems with their love lives and school.

A recent survey conducted by the Mental Health Department and the ABAC pollster attached to Assumption University suggested 70 per cent of the students who completed high school this year were suffering from stress.

"Policy planners should give more importance to how much stress the admission system causes for students, rather than simply being concerned with their academic accomplishments alone," said Dr Ronnachai.

He said the Education Ministry should reconsider whether the admission system caused too much stress.

Chatrarat Kaewmorakot

The Nation