Relocation of Accra Psychiatric Hospital proposed

A document containing a proposal for the closure and relocation of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital (APH) and the development of a community mental health care programme was on Wednesday presented to the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the donor community at a mental health forum in Accra.

Dr Joseph Asare, Chief Psychiatric Officer of the GHS, and personnel of Basic Needs, a non-governmental organisation, prepared the document, which aims at doing away with institutional care for mental patients and the expansion of community mental service.

Policymakers, health partners and other stakeholders would discuss the proposals before approval. It touches on the training of volunteers for community work.

The forum, on the theme: "Community Mental Health, A Shift In Mental Health Care In Ghana", was organised by the MOH, GHS and Basic Needs. Prof Agyeman Badu Akosa, Director-General of the GHS, said proceeds from the sale of the prime lands of the APH could help in the development of a community-based mental health service and expansion of the Pantang and Ankaful hospitals.

The Director-General touched on the need to educate the public to stop associating mental health problems with retribution and witchcraft. Dr Asare said a community-based care would help to decongest the psychiatric hospitals, stop stigmatisation, empower families to take care of patients and lessen the burden on health workers while promoting mental health seeking behaviour in the communities.

Touching on some of the constraints in service delivery, Dr Asare mentioned inadequate funding, high attrition rate of health workers and the current shortage of specialised mental health workers.

He said most of the wards at APH were congested with some taking up to 300 patients instead of 50 leading to patients having to stand throughout without having enough room to sleep.

Dr Asare said the congestion and inadequate staffing had in some cases made patients to attack staffs leaving them with broken limbs and injuries.

Chris Underhill, Executive Director of Basic Needs, who spoke on the global mental health situation, said by 2020, mental illness would rise from 12 to 15 per cent of the disease burden.

He said depression alone would by 2020 disable more people than traffic accidents, heart disease and HIV/AIDS.