Psychiatric patient attacks nurses

Accra, July 23, GNA - Two psychiatric nurses who were attacked by patients of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital have both gone blind in one eye, hospital authorities said in Accra on Thursday. Madam Winifred Gbedemah, 60 and Mr. George Twumasi, 54, are blind in their left eyes.

Dr. Akwasi Osei, Acting Chief Psychiatrist of the Ghana Health Service, told the GNA in an interview that "attacks on attendants are not very frequent but are very deadly when they occur." He said victims of the two attacks, on separate occasions, were restraining patients from bolting and in the process the patients gave them terrible blows, damaging their eyes.

"Patients wield all kinds of weapons such as knives, cutlasses and metals. As psychiatric doctors and nurses, one must be smart enough or else patients would use these weapons on you." "When diagnosing patients I use one eye to write prescriptions and the other is fixed on the patients ready for any surprise that can come from them," he said.

Dr. Osei said compensation given to victims of those attacks was pathetic. Madam Gbedemah took GH A2150.00 while and spent GH A2160.00 on her medical bill and therefore had no compensation for the loss of her eye.

"Compensation to victims of psychiatric attack is a big insult, this is wrong," he said.

Narrating his ordeal Mr. Twumasi said in the night of December 17, 2008, Mr. Sela Aguzey, who was admitted to the hospital, told him he wanted to go to Akatsi.

He attempted opening the gate while the nurse restrained him. "Before I realised he hit hard my left eye with his elbow and moments later my eye began to swell."

He said he was taken to the Ridge Hospital but was transferred to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital where Dr Stephen Akafo, an eye specialist, declared him blind in one eye. "I drive a taxi after work and my off days to supplement my scanty salary but I cannot drive again because of this misfortune," Mr. Twumasi said. Others have also suffered similar attacks and Madam Doris Darkwa lost almost all her teeth when she was beaten by a patient.