Mental health patients in the Upper West region are being turned away from health facilities due to the lack of drugs and inadequate health personnel.
The situation according to the Regional Health Coordinator is affecting many patients and their families.
Citi News’ Upper West Regional correspondent, Latif Mahama reported that the region has no single dedicated facility for mental health patients.
[contextly_sidebar id=”ZLCbP5yURmYzyBfLeYPz8NJyoVgOMu5Z”]He added that persons who report at the various health facilities with mental health illness are referred to other regions or asked to go home because of lack of medicine and qualified personnel to attend to them.
The information according to Latiff Mahama was revealed by the Upper West regional coordinator of Mental Health, Randy Sedom Agbodo in Wa at a meeting with the rulers and opinion leaders in the Wa municipality.
Randy Sedom said the situation is also adversely affecting the lives and families of persons living with mental health illnesses.
“…In Upper West Region, many people are roaming on the streets, people who have been abandoned by their family members, people who are poor and they need care and support; medication is a problem. If people will get well, medicine is a crucial aspect of the whole therapy.”
The mental health coordinator lamented that “we have difficulty getting medication.”
“Sometimes for three to nine months, we don’t have medications for mental health patients in the region. So it is a big challenge. Sometimes they have to travel all the way down south to seek mental health care. And that is the reason why some people will go to the local healers because they are able to keep them there for months in chains,” he added.
200 mental cases every quarter
According to Latiff Mahama, available records at the Regional Mental Health indicates that the region which has over a little over 776,000 people record 200 mental cases every quarter.
Randy Sedom believes that the time has come for various stakeholders in the health sector to act swiftly to save the lives of many health patients who are dying in the region.
–
By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin