Psychiatric hospitals in dire need of resources

Psychiatric hospitals in Ghana are still in dire need of resources to function properly.

Managers of the facilities say government has failed to provide funds for the smooth running of hospitals months after the mental health bill was passed into law.

The Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital is reported to be stopping admissions while other facilities are experiencing congestion.

Ghana’s Chief Psychiatrist, Dr Akwesi Osei, in an interview with XYZ News said the conditions of the mental hospitals will deteriorate if government fails to fund them.

“We do not have enough psychotropic medication; we do not have enough human resources to assist with the patients with have,” Dr. Osei said.

He added that “we still have problems with stigmatization and discrimination with the mentally ill…obviously the law has been passed and we hope that it will address some of these problems.

“But what is happening which is an acute situation is the lack of the release of [funds] since the beginning of the year which is compelling Ankaful to stop admissions because they don’t have money to feed the players”.