Bangkok: The Mental Health Assistance Team (MCATT) has visited the area to care for relatives of those missing from the Office of the Auditor General building collapse, while search and rescue teams continue their work amid the scorching heat. Officials used fire engines to spray water mist into the area where the backhoe was drilling a hole in the ruins of the State Audit Office building that collapsed from the earthquake, Zone B, to reduce the heat around the drilling head because both the people and the machines had to work in extremely hot weather, with a temperature of 34 degrees Celsius. However, when looking at the heat index or the heat that we felt, it felt like it was 43 degrees Celsius. Therefore, it was necessary to find a way to reduce the heat from the machines that were working continuously, with hope and not yet giving up hope.
According to Thai News Agency, Dr. Kittisak Aksornwong, Director-General of the Department of Mental Health, led the Mental Health Aid Team (MCATT) to inspect the waiting center for relatives of victims. The team consisted of a multidisciplinary team of doctors, psychiatric nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, social workers, public health professionals, people responsible for mental health work, and related personnel.
The Director-General of the Department of Mental Health said that since the day of the incident until today, he has taken care of and provided assistance to the relatives of the victims, approximately 200 people. Of these, 15 relatives are in the red level, requiring medication and close monitoring. There are more than 100 relatives in the yellow level, which is a group that does not yet need medication but still requires close monitoring. The MCATT team will focus on talking to them to create relaxation. They visit the area from 7 am to 11 pm, for 2 hours each in the morning, afternoon, and evening. After that, it is time for the relatives to rest. However, from talking to them, it was found that most relatives waited until late at night.
In addition to the relatives of the missing, they also talked to the rescue team that was working. It was found that 1-2 of them were currently under stress, both from working under pressure and the hot weather. Therefore, they had to take a break from work for a while. A medical certificate will be issued.