Mental disorder is just like any other illness - Nurse

Principal Health Nurse at the Pantang Hospital, Seth Boakye-Gyapong, has bemoaned the stigmatization associated with mental disorder.

The medical officer speaking to rainbowradioonline.com indicated that mental health was just like any other illness and should not be treated differently.

He debunked assertions that mental health or disorders are caused by curses or black magic.

The nurse admonished families who have their relatives at the Pantang Hospital to show them care and love.

He said persons with chronic situations are usually abandoned by their relatives at the facility.

He told the website the facility has several patients who are still at the Hospital.

He added there are others whose relatives cannot be traced.

To him, just as any part of the body is affected by illness, the brain can also be affected hence Ghanaians should desist from making assumptions about the illness.

He said mental illness can be managed to a level that the person can perform their normal duties in their environment.

Mr. Seth Boakye-Gyapong made these remarks when the Forever True Friends, an NGO, donated assorted items to the hospital on Saturday, December 19, 2020.

The items donated were bags of rice, bags of sugar, assorted drinks, hand sanitizers, detergents, bags of washing powder, packs of toothbrushes, towels, slippers, sponges, brooms, bedsheets, kettles, among others.