Mental wellness not given priority says psychiatrist

MARANYANE NGWANAAMOTHO
Staff Writer | Thursday October 28, 2010 00:00

Addressing participants at a workshop in Lobatse, Thula said usually people with mental disorders have no access to proper medical attention until the illness reaches the stage of being declared mental disturbance by medical practitioners.

'It has not been given priority like all the other illnesses like diabetes, cancer and HIV/AIDS, yet stress disorders have been considered one of the major causes of death globally,' he said.

Police report that since the beginning of the year to date, there have been 281 cases of suicide as compared to the 261 deaths in the same period last year.

Unless general practitioners refer someone to the psychiatric hospital those affected have no means of meeting with a psychiatrist. He says that in most cases general practitioners do not have enough expertise to deal with issues of mental wellness, hence the condition further develops into a severe illness. He says that if proper treatment were administered as early as possible a lot of mental illness cases would be avoided.

He said that the government's failure to give mental health priority exacerbates negative stereotypes about mental illness.  He explained that even within local communities there are stereotypes that do not even allow the mention of mental disorder. He said that it is common practice for people with mental disorders or challenges to be locked up in houses, tied up at the back of the compound since they are an 'embarrassment' to the family.

Thula says that Sbrana is currently the only mental health facility in the country and accommodates patients from all over the country, which puts a lot of stress on staff.  This also affects patients who are referred to this hospital.  Families and friends also suffer since they have to travel long distances to visit loved ones.

To make matters worse, Jubilee Psychiatric Clinic was closed recently in preference to a TB ward. Thula says that this has not made things any better, as a shortage in mental health facilities was already experienced nationwide. He added that there is even a shortage of psychiatrists at the only Psychiatric referral hospital.

'There are only three psychiatrists at Sbrana.  I am one of the three and I am also involved in the administration spending most of my time in the office, leaving the other two overloaded with work,' he said.

The hospital with a bedding capacity of 300 is still faced with shortage of beds due to the high demand.  'This is a very serious issue because some of our patients sleep on the floor,' he said.

Thula complained that there is lack of specialist care locally, which forces patients to remain in admission care since they do not have the adequate support system in their communities.  'This is now worse with the closure of Jubilee since they now have to travel from Kasane to be admitted at Sbrana,' he said.

Psychiatrists who were at Jubilee are at Nyangabwe hospital to assess patients and refer them here,' he said.  Currently there are no psychiatrists in general hospitals, with a shortage in specialist nurses.

Thula said that there is lack of community-based care, which puts pressure on hospital care and forces them to keep patients longer and to be admitted regularly.  He complained that there is an increasing number of forensic patients, which raises concern about their security.  'There are people working under stressful circumstances and yet they do not have a unit within their organisations specifically for their mental wellbeing.  They end up having to queue with everybody at general hospitals and clinics for services,' he said.