Mentally ill 'need families'

Family support is the most important help for hundreds of patients who suffered mental trauma after the quake, doctors on the island said yesterday.

Many people had become ill under the stress, they said.

Doctors had received an increasing number of patients suffering from insomnia, fear and nervous disorders.

In some cases, patients could not even speak or recognise their family members, doctors said.

Psychologists said the mental damage brought by the catastrophe would take a long time to heal.

They were encouraging victims to speak of their fears and share their worries with relatives.