[Recommendation for a programme transforming and improving mental health services - starting the debate].

Today mental health services face various challenges for which they are barely or not at all prepared under current structural, functional and financial circumstances, while the mental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are yet to be fully recognized. In Hungary, health and social services provide mental health services collectively, although simul taneously: in many cases, vertical and horizontal cooperation tends to be incidental or completely lacking among treatment types and stages, causing perplexing patient journeys, significant regional disparities, and deficiencies in the necessary multidisciplinary approach. In our thesis, first we start from the definition of health by WHO, which brings well-being to the forefront, then we attempt to present a comprehensive assessment of the current situation of the Hungarian social and health care system regarding mental health, introducing international and domestic statistics along with foreign national public policy programmes. Finally, with particular attention to the recommendations of various professional programmes, we present a proposal for the reform and development of integrated social and health care systems. Along with delivering a keynote address, we hope to attract the critical attention of a wide range of mental health professionals with our proposed programme.