The Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) yesterday re-launched its psychiatric facility, offering both in-patient and out-patient services.
Built at the cost of $100 million, the Mental Health Institute has been presented by the Ministry of Health as one that will provide a higher standard of mental health service. The principle is to ensure that patients when experiencing mental trauma, can come and get the necessary treatment and after the episode has been managed they can then return to their respective homes and still have access to care closer to their home.
Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the GPH, Dr Bhiro Harry said “I’m thankful to the government for the change, even though before the facility was not as spacious, staff got their designated work done and they will now do better for they now have their personal space.” He said that the new facility has all the necessary rooms and the nurses now have an adequate injection room. Important rooms like the nursery room, specialist room, and pharmacy are all air-conditioned and comfortable.
Dr Harry told Stabroek News that all the necessary medications and therapy for patients are being provided free of cost.
Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony stated, “One of the areas which has been neglected is mental health and all the trends in the world is showing that the global population is going to be severely affected, which portion of the population has been affected by various mental health illnesses, but in the coming years more people are going to be affected, unfortunately the investments in mental health has been lukewarm and that has been a problem because we have a lot more patients but don’t have the facilities, we still have many works to get done and we are getting there.”
“We now have to ensure that every primary health care physician is now trained to do some basic psychiatric interventions. One of the things that has been missing at our primary health care level and the physicians are not being screened for is depression.”
“We are also building new hospitals and right now we are starting the construction of six new regional hospitals, they will have out and in-patient departments from Region Two, with two locations, two in Region Four – in Enmore and Diamond, one in Bath and in Skeldon.”
“We are also starting Bartica this year and also we have already signed the loan with IDB, having US$97 million that will be going to the development of the hospitals,” he added
Anthony noted that there is a whole sector that deals with the human rights of mental health patients, which is a relatively new concept and not many countries can boast that in their legislation they have legislated the rights of mental health patients.
“We are one of the few countries that can say that we have done that, we done that last year. The facility is providing equal care, this means that everybody will have the same access and clean spaces and equal care will be given,” the minister assured. (Aaliyah McFarlane)
