Mahama’s comment on Psychiatric Hospital misconstrued - Victor Bampoe

The Deputy Minister of Health Dr.Victor Bampoe has said comments by President John Mahama that he was unaware of the situation at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital has been misinterpreted and misconstrued.

President Mahama in an interview on Sunrise Radio said although he is aware of the challenges facing the facility, the recent strike by the staff has not yet come to his attention.

“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 [because] 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 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 are and how we will resolve them”.

The comment by the President has been condemned by some Ghanaians.

But according to the deputy Health minister, the media misconstrued the president's response to the matter.

“The question was very specific and the answer was specific. He was asked about the strike action by Psychiatric nurses and he said he was not aware and it is not surprising given that he was out in the field campaigning and the strike was declared while he was away, then he went on to talk about the challenges in that sector so how can someone who is not aware of the challenges in the sector talk about the challenges in that same sector?

"It is very important for us to be fair and objective in our reportage. That is why the President has put in place a sector Minister to ensure issues of such nature are taken care of accordingly,” Mr. Bampoe stated.

The Accra Psychiatric Hospital has been in crisis following the absence of funds and medical supply for some months now.

The facility has subsequently started releasing the patients due to the lack of logistics to cater for them.