Mentally-challenged people on the country’s streets will soon be rounded up for treatment before they are reintegrated into society.
Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies will bear the cost of caring for mental patients in their respective areas under a special exercise.
Chief Psychiatrist, Dr. Akwasi Osei, explained that under the Mental Health Law, MMDAs are required to allocate funds to rid the streets of mental patients who pose a danger to the public.
He was speaking to Luv News at the third edition of the Inter-medical Schools Public Speaking Competition in Kumasi organised by Ghanaian Health Professionals in Ireland with support from two top hospitals in that country.
The student representatives from four public universities took turn to call for an overhaul of the country’s mental health system. They recommended, among others, wiping out stigmatization, equipping mental health facilities, building capacity of personnel in the rural areas and improving access to drugs.
Dr. Osei claimed Ghana’s mental health system is closer to a revolution which can only be realised with the swift operation of the newly inaugurated Board for Mental Health Authority.
He is therefore charging the new board to start work immediately to ensure that ideas enshrined in the mental health law become a reality.
Dr. Akwasi Osei confirmed to Luv News that mentally challenged people on the streets will soon be camped and treated.
Chairman of Mental Health Authority Board, Prof. Joseph Bediako Asare, says all they needs from government is to provide funds to enable it execute its mandate.
The team from the University of Cape Coast Medical School won the Public Speaking Contest.
Source: GhanaWeb
