Ankaful: Rejected mental patients left to roam freely

Residents of Ankaful, the community that houses the only mental health facility in the Central region, are worried about the constant turning away of new patients.

They said they are living in fear because they could be attacked by the patients who are unstable.

Some of the residents who spoke to Joy FM’s Central regional correspondent Richard Kojo Nyarko, said it is "very bad" seeing naked men and women in town.

“You are walking around... and you see mad persons some of them holding knives, sticks and weapons that they can use to harm you. So we are very scared,” one of the residents said.

Another resident noted that the mentally challenged patients have been disturbing petty traders in the area, adding that “there is a whole lot of problems that these people are creating. Almost everyday you see a new mentally challenged person roaming about in the streets”.

Meanwhile, the Pantang Psychiatric Hospital in the Greater Accra region has also suspended admission of new patients due to inadequate funding.

The hospital now screens new patients to avoid congestion.

But Health Minister Sherry Ayittey tells Joy News Elton Brobbey, funds have been secured to improve mental healthcare in the country and the impact will be felt by June this year.