The limited inflow of income from stakeholders, according Dr. Osei, is hindering the facility from rendering services effectively.

[contextly_sidebar id=”8WY4KGjoAEGwpa2fuCHqdFGUz2qMIMKF”]The Hospital almost shut down a few months ago due to a four million Ghana cedi debt owed its suppliers.

The previous government only paid five hundred thousand cedis, and provided some supplies to the facility at the time, but this could not mitigate the challenge.

Dr. Osei said a meeting with the Health Minister to find resolutions to the challenge did not yield results as the Ministry has given several promises but had not take any action yet.

“We have met with the Minister on several occasions but they just say they want to help, but we want them to move beyond simply wanting to help to actually help,” Dr Osei requested.

Pass LI on Mental Health

Dr. Akwasi Osei also called for the passage of the Legislative Instrument (LI) on the Mental Health Act, 2012 (846).

Per the Act, persons with mental illness will have separate wards at health facilities.

Most of these facilities are expected to have the required infrastructure, but that is not the case due to delays in the passage of the LI.

The Act also makes provision for the Mental Health Authority (MHA) to ensure that actual financial allocations are made into the Mental Health Fund.

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The three-year-old debt owed the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, forced suppliers of the facility to withdraw their services which subsequently led to suspension of new admissions.

[contextly_sidebar id=”gyHW6VuDM5y8nI2wZ2l8CZGhg4GlXmVH”]Speaking to Citi News, the Head of Public Relations at the hospital, Dr. Ama Boadu, said the Minister of Health is yet to meet with them to discuss the way forward.

“Our challenges are not new to the public. From late last year when we had the crisis and the government brought in some money, since then, we haven’t received any amount from the government.”

“The hospital director and the administrator have tried several times to meet the Minister of Health and as at now… they haven’t been able to meet the minister,” she added.

As to how the hospital is surviving, Dr. Boadu said “we are still relying on donations from people. For the money the government gave, we exhausted that long ago so it is really a difficult situation for the hospital.”

In 2016, the hospital halted admissions to its Out Patient Department (OPD), because of their financial challenges which have continued to worsen.

Suppliers of the mental health facility withdrew the supply of essential medical products due to the unpaid debts.

In late October 2016, the hospital’s nurses also withdrew their services for a period over government’s failure to provide them with basic logistics and essential medicines which they said worsened the conditions of some of the mental patients.

In November 2016, the government eventually released  GHc300,000  and GHC 120,000 worth of drugs and other consumables after the strike was called off.

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The preferred Best Fund Manager, 2016 – Gold Coast, donated bags of locally produced rice, Edwumawura Rice, assorted drinks, gallons of oil, cartons of mineral and undisclosed cash amount to the two hospitals, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility.

Donating the items, the Chief Executive Officer of Gold Coast, Kwame Ofori Asomaning, said that they were aware of the difficulties that the hospital, especially the children’s department were saddled with.

He said it was a culture of Groupe Nduom to assist such facilities, particularly those providing special services to people.

Mr. Asomaning promised the hospital that “it would not be a one-off gesture, but rather the beginning of the company’s continuous support.”

He noted that, GN Foundation, another company under the umbrella body – Groupe Nduom, paid special attention to needy facilities, and that the Ridge Hospital would be one of the beneficiaries.

At the tour of the children’s department of the hospital, he expressed dismay about the conditions the children are subjected to, because of inadequate resources to give them best of services.

Receiving the items on behalf of the Unit, Dr. Nana Sereboe, who expressed delight about the gesture, mentioned that “it’s motivating to be assisted at this period, because a lot of people are at the comfort of their homes and families, but health workers have chosen to save lives during the same festivities.”

She said the donation would be put to good use by using it to the optimum benefit of the children, contrary to perceptions that such items would be used by the health workers themselves.

Meanwhile, at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, the same items and cash were donated, but there was also clothing for the inmates.

Receiving the donation, the Deputy Director of Nursing Nurses, Dr. Emmanuel Pappoe, revealed that the facility is distressed, and called on philanthropists and other corporate bodies, to support them regularly.

He said government’s annual subvention was inadequate to cater for the inmates, whose needs are always unmet.

Dr. Pappoe also said that, out of the current number of 420 inmates, only a handful of families visit their patients.

He lamented that, some people also gave them wrong telephone numbers and home addresses, so they were unable to get in touch anytime they need them.

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The spokesperson for the aggrieved nurses, Philip Frimpong Okyere, told Richard Dela Sky on Eyewitness News that they will only resume duty if government provides them with the needed logistics and essential medication.

“We told them, the National Labbour Commission ((NLC) that, we will actually go back to work when we see those things on the table. They have brought some of the medication but not all; and then the logistics are yet to come. So we have told them in clear terms that we are waiting, they should bring the logistics because we cannot administer medication and dress somebody’s wound without gloves. So our argument is very simple; just give us the material so that we go back to the workplace, in the absence of those things we maintain our stand, we are not going there,” he added.

Nurses at the facility have been on strike since Monday, over the poor working conditions they are forced to work under.

However, the Minister of Health, Alex Segbefia, told Citi News on Thursday that, government has given some GHc300,000 and drugs worth GHc120,000 to the hospital to cushion them in the meantime.

This is a very insiginificant amount considering that the facility needs several millions of cedis to run effectively and pay it’s debt.

Mr. Segbefia has assured of  additional provisions by the end of the week.

“We have made some funding available with more to follow by the end of the week, we’ve also made pharmaceuticals available with more to follow and we are on top of the issue currently. We gave a cheque GHc300, 000 yesterday but we have gone out ourselves and bought drugs to the tune of about GHc120, 000.”

“We’ve also given some foodstuffs because even though people donated food there was a lack of protein so   we were able to give a one month consignment of frozen fish which was collected first thing yesterday morning, so both on the food side, the pharmaceuticals side and the consumable which we are dealing with today, all things should be back to normal to cover them till at least the budget is read again till February.”

But the nurses say they will only go back to work when the logistics are provided.

“We have stated  and maintained that, the work place poses a danger to our lives in the sense that; in the absence of those logistics, in the absence those essential emergency medication, we cannot manage aggression, we can’t manage the mental patients, if we do it, it means that we should accept the risk of infection and personal injury that will come as a result of the aggressiveness,” Okyere added.

Return to work

The National Labour Commission (NLC) in their usual posture, on Wednesday ordered the nurses to return to work, and asked government to provide the facility the needed logistics and funds.

I’am unaware of strike by Accra Psychiatric Hospital nurses

President John Dramani Mahama had earlier stated that, although he is unaware about the recent strike, he is committed to resolve the issues to improve mental health delivery.

The Hospital has in recent times been battling with a number of challenges that compelled it to among other things close its Out Patient Department (OPD) few weeks ago. –

By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Nurses at the nation’s premier mental health referral facility laid down their tools in disapproval of poor working conditions and lack of essentials to work with.

[contextly_sidebar id=”j6SroxDHfJzyO7ya2ouvzDuXAi7sRPU4″]It is uncertain when government will fix the problem for the striking Nurses to resume work.

The Alliance for Mental Health and Development is alarmed by this precarious situation and called on government to immediately resolve the problem.

The Alliance which is working in the area of promoting the human rights of mental patients considers the stalemate as a national security threat.

Below is the Alliance’s press statement copied citifmonline.com.

PRESS RELEASE BY THE ALLIANCE FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT
ON
THE SITUATION OF THE ACCRA PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL AND MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS IN GHANA
The
Ghana National Mental Health Alliance (GHAMHA) notes with worrying concern the developments at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital in which the management and staff of the hospital have embarked on a strike action due to lack of basic working tools and equipment with which to work.

We would like to draw Government’s attention to this emergency and the imminent disaster that awaits the country should mental health continue to suffer such neglect as this.

We pray the President to direct the immediate release of funds to cater for the needs of the hospital so that it can efficiently continue treatment of the many people who rely on the hospital for their mental health care.
We also encourage the staff of the hospital to be open-minded and
work with the government towards finding a lasting solution to this recurring problem.
While this is being done, we wish to use the opportunity to request the Minister of Health, the Attorney General’s Department, the Health Select Committee of Parliament and the entire legislative body to immediately have the Legislative Instrument approved for effective implementation of provisions of the mental health Act, 2012 (Act
846).

We further call on health policy authorities, particularly, the regional and district health management teams of the Ghana Health Service, medical directors and health administrators to individually and collectively set about the establishment of Community Psychiatric Units (CPUs).
We also call on them to expedite the deployment of mental health care professionals to the CPUs to provide the needed services in an efficient manner.
We entreat district, municial and metropolitan assemblies to extend investments towards creating and resourcing the community psychiatric units to run mental health care facilities in their jurisdictions.
We continue to remind families to live up to their responsibilities to
Wards their relatives with psychosocial needs and support them in their treatment.
It is our prayer that everything will be done within our means to leave no one behind in our efforts to improve our lives. Inclusion of women and men, girls and boys with mental health care needs is the right approach to achieving a healthy population and total human development.

For and on behalf of the Ghana National Mental Health Alliance (GHAMHA).
Fred Nantogmah, Basic Needs Ghana.

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According to the Ministry, some GH¢1 billion will soon be disbursed by the Ministry of Finance for the procurement of some needed logistics for the facility.

[contextly_sidebar id=”SgfaC4Hf6Z2SDSwQKlvZiUXdwRmnceYd”]The psychiatric nurses on Monday [October 31] declared an indefinite strike, claiming that work at the facility posed serious risk to them.

They lamented that the lack of some logistics and materials at the hospital made if difficult for them to operate.

Some said they have been forced to personally finance the purchase of needed logistics.

But Tony Goodman, the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health told Citi News, “The finance ministry is releasing some money to us. They’ve dealt with the human right aspect of it. So moving forward, we are asking them to go back to work while we deal with the issue.”

He said the ministry has taken steps to acquire some of the logistics the nurses have requested.

“On the things they mentioned, we started providing them. The human resources is one of them. The other things which has to do with commodities, the procurement people are working on it and will get back to us. We are also expecting this GH¢1million from the ministry of Finance, immediately we get it, we will provide some of the medications we believe should be available,” he added.

Psychiatric Nurses threaten indefinite strike

Earlier in October, the Psychiatric Nurses at the hospital threatened an indefinite strike over government’s failure to provide the facility with the basic logistics needed to carry out their duties effectively. According to the Chairperson of the Nurses, Jamila Hussein, the lack of medication for patients at the facility rendered staff to vulnerabilities such as physical attacks from patients.

“The patients are either beating us or they are beating other patients. That is the situation now. Those detergents keep the place clean and in section three, the minimum hours a nurse spends in a ward  is eight hours so we are at risk. Some of us are even developing infections.”

Accra Psychiatric Hospital shuts down OPD

The hospital suspended services at the department a few weeks ago due to financial constraints.

The situation forced the hospital’s suppliers  to withdraw their services over the unpaid debts.

Others suppliers also dragged the mental facility to court to demand payment.

This is not the first time the nurses of the hospital have embarked on an indefiate strike over poor condition of service.

In 2015, they embarked on an indefinite strike over unpaid salaries following failed promises by government to have the arrears paid.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Hospital has in recent times been battling with a number of challenges that compelled it to among other things close its Out Patient Department (OPD) few weeks ago.

[contextly_sidebar id=”lCpywkfKELDjgCZpsSR5PmhaivbPGdR1″]The situation forced suppliers of the facility to withdraw their services over the unpaid debts, while aggrieved suppliers dragged the mental facility to court to demand payment.

The hospital’s situation has deteriorated to the point where the facility did not have basic items such as A-4 sheets, gloves and disinfectants readily available.

The nurses at the hospital have thus declared a strike over what they call unsafe working environment.

But in an interview with the Sunrise FM in Koforidua on Tuesday, President  Mahama explained that the current threat by the staff has not come to his attention.

He was however quick to express his commitment to rectify the problem.

“It hasn’t come to my attention but I do know that the area of mental health is one of the areas where we need to focus our attention. Our Psychiatrists tell us that all of us have a bit of madness in us and that somehow we all have some mental disorder or the other so it means that it is something that we need to pay attention to.

“We passed the new mental health bill and government is committed to its implementation. We will take immediate steps to resolve the issue at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital and I am going to call the Minister of Health after this programme to see what the issues and how we will resolve them.”

The NDC in its 2016 manifesto, has promised to build two more psychiatric hospitals in the country, despite the challenges existing ones are going through.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

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The hospital suspended services at the department due to financial constraints.

The situation forced the hospital’s suppliers of the facility to withdraw their services over the unpaid debts.

Others suppliers also dragged the mental facility to court to demand payment.

However sources within the hospital have told Citi News that the government has offered to give them fifteen thousand cedis out of the over 3.6 million cedis owed them.

The amount according to hospital authorities, is woefully inadequate to run the facility.

Meanwhile management of the hospital is expected to meet today [Monday], to decide on their next line of action.

We don’t even have A-4 sheets

The dire situation of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital has deteriorated to the point where the facility does not even have access to basic items such as A-4 sheets to take down minor but critical information.

A member of the Hospital’s Public Relations Unit, Edwina Ankomah, lamented on Eyewitness News that, the hospital is in dire need of basic things like “gloves, disinfectants, and stationary  like paper.”

“Just a plain sheet – because someone will walk in and would want a medical report for school or something and we don’t have even an A-4 sheet,” she added.

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By: Zoe Abu Baido/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Dr Akwasi Osei, Chief Executive Officer of the Mental Health Authority, told Citi News the LI includes the establishment of the mental health fund which will provide funds to run the various mental health facilities in the country.

Dr. Osei said, “The mental health law talked about the establishment of a mental health fund. That mental health fund will be fed through the mental health levy which may be part of an existing levy or capitation like NHIA, VAT or road fund.”

He added that, the passage of the LI was dependent on the agreement of the Ministry of Finance to provide clarity on how to introduce the levy.

“We’ve not been able to get the Ministry of Finance to put a finger on exactly what it [levy] is. If we are able to do that, it will then go to parliament to be passed and implemented, then we can begin receiving funding and this will not become an issue,” he said.

The Accra Psychiatric Hospital on Wednesday shut down its Out-Patient Department, turning away patients due to the lack of basic supplies.

Dr Akwasi Osei has described the situation as worrying. He said the various Psychiatric Hospitals in the country are “seriously handicapped.”

“The Ministry [of Finance] has to simply release money for us to run the service. That notwithstanding, the Board has also been in discussion with the Ministry and the Board is going to convene another emergency meeting on this situation,” he said.

‘Accra Psychiatric Hospital OPD shuts down’

The Accra Psychiatric Hospital on Wednesday shut down its OPD over lack of some working basic items including A4 sheets to record health information.

A member of the Hospital’s Public Relations Unit, Edwina Ankomah, lamented on Eyewitness News that, the hospital is in dire need of basic things like “gloves, disinfectants and stationery and paper.”

Persons who visited the Accra Psychiatric Hospital on Wednesday, were turned away, and the hospital’s administrators have said they were compelled to take such a decision due to worsening financial constraints.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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A member of the Hospital’s Public Relations Unit, Edwina Ankomah, lamented on Eyewitness News that, the hospital is in dire need of basic things like “gloves, disinfectants, and stationary like paper.”

“Just a plain sheet – because someone will walk in and would want a medical report for school or something and we don’t have even an A-4 sheet,” she added.

Accra Psychiatric Hospital shuts down OPD 

Persons who visited the Accra Psychiatric Hospital on Wednesday, were turned away, and the hospital’s administrators have said they were compelled to take such a decision due to worsening financial constraints.

“The little we have, we have to have able to take care of those on the ward,” Mrs Ankomah said, hence the hospital management’s decision.

She narrated that, the situation “got worse in July when our suppliers decided not to supply us with anything that we needed to run the hospital. That is when it got bad.”

The hospital management is currently in talks with the ministry of health to try and solve the current situation.

As at now, the money that comes to the hospital, like a recent amount of GHc 521,000, is used to settle debts.

But since July, Mrs Ankomah revealed that, the hospital has been living off donations, but “how long can we survive on donations,” she asked?

Gov’t’s pledge to mental healthcare

With elections around the corner, the National Democratic Congress administration has made some pledges to mental healthcare, despite the apparent neglect of existing ones.

The NDC, in it’s 2016 manifesto, promised to build two more psychiatric hospitals if voted into office.

President John Mahama said the NDC government would prioritize mental healthcare and ensure the strict implementation of the Mental Health Act, 2012, act 846.

The Accra Psychiatric Hospital is not the only one under-resourced, as managers of the Pantang Hospital have similar concerns.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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