MindFreedom Ghana, a Non-Governmental Organization based in Accra has called for the quick implementation of the Mental Health Bill made in 2006 by the Parliament of Ghana.

At least, the bill if made into law would go a long way to ensure the safety of the psycho-social disabilities in the country in the area of confinement where proper care could be offered them.

Speaking at a one day workshop organized by the MindFreedom Ghana, Mrs. Janet Amegatcher, the Director of the organization expressed dissatisfaction over the rate at which the government has neglected the mentally ill in the country.

She said so far there has not been any provision for the mentally ill outside the hospitals.

Many of the mentally ill are found on the streets begging for whatever they may be offered and end up at the mercy of the weather without shelter and food for their habitation and survival.

Difficult to accept, there is an estimated 2.4million Ghanaians with one form of mental disorder or another, of which 400,000 are in the severe forms with only 2% of the victims getting adequate care leaving a gap of 98%.

She said only 14 practicing Psychiatrists are in the country to take care of 2.4million mentally ill who are also located only in two out of the ten regions.

According to Amegatcher, since 1888 when the Colonial masters passed an Ordinance that the mentally disordered people be arrested and confine in a safe area, no subsequent government(s) has had the political will to change the state and plight of the mentally ill.

She hinted that, if the law is passed, it will go a long way to protect the rights and the interests of the mentally challenged people and to a larger extent ensure adequate attention for their health concerns.

Currently, mental health care is too defective and expensive and requires new legislation to overhaul the system based on sound human rights principles.

She said legislation will ensure Ghana’s compliance with international treaties, conventions and obligations to which the country has signed.

Even though mental health care is bedeviled with desperate problems, much could still be done to tackle the challenges associated with it collectively to add to the confidence of those who suffer it.

Mentally disabled people are mostly laid off from work as a result of their disability but the law if passed will ensure their employment rights, among others.

Traditional and Faith Healers whose services attract the mentally ill must also be strictly made to abide by the regulations, rules and laws to safeguard the rights of the mentally ill.

On his part, Dr. Kwesi Osei, Director General of the Ghana Mental Hospitals appealed to the Government to speed up the process of passing into law the Mental Health Bill.

He said acute congestion at the hospitals has resulted in 300 patients sleeping in a room supposed to contain 60 people, with a single nurse mostly on duty during the night.

He added that 8 out of the 14 Psychiatrists in the country are on retirement and are working on contract basis to cater for health needs of about 2.4million mentally population.

He revealed that Ghana spends 1.6 % of the national budget on the psychiatric hospitals whiles Kenya and Uganda spends less than 1%, yet their services are far better as compared to Ghana.

This could be attributed to the fact that the services here are centralized and institutionalized, but not nationally spread as theirs.

The bill if passed would make adequate provision for the chronic mentally ill under the national health insurance scheme (NHIS).

Story: Evans Okai & Joyce Quaye (Reporters, Health Digest News)