GHANA— President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufu Addo, has officially commissioned a new psychiatry center at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana to address the growing concern of mental health in the country.
‘The Melody’ as the building complex has been amply dubbed, is named after Squadron Leader Melody M. M. Danquah, Sub Saharan Africa’s first female pilot and the mother of a former head of the Department, Professor Angela Ofori-Atta.
It houses a conference room, a student lecture hall, faculty research offices, a serene waiting area, trendy consulting rooms, therapy rooms, a treatment room, a pharmacy, and an observation room.
Addressing the gathering, the President expressed his joy and commended the donors for putting up a magnificent facility.
H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa said he recognized the challenges facing the health sector and assured the Hospital of the government’s pledge to improve health care.
He also disclosed that the passing of the Mental Health law and decriminalizing suicide were all to address some of the challenges in the health sector, especially mental healthcare face.
The Chief Executive of the Hospital, Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah, in his welcome address encouraged staff to be proud of Korle Bu’s achievements as the preferred choice for psychiatry treatment.
“Our Psychiatry Department has been the preferred choice for psychiatry treatment. Let us cherish this moment as we embark on changing the narrative of mental health in Ghana.”
Dr. Ampomah noted that the building will draw attention to psychiatry, which has become a neglected discipline, adding that mental health is however not a respecter of social status.
The Board Chairman of the Hospital, Dr. David Nkansa Dwamena was grateful to the President for his interest in expanding the frontiers of quality health care in the country in general and Korle Bu in particular.
Present at the ceremony was the Health Minister, Mr. Kwaku Agyeman Manu, who noted that the new structure will go a long way to meet Sustainable Development Goal 3.
Mr. Agyeman Manu said it was important for everyone to collectively work to address the issue of mentally challenged individuals in our society, adding, “The Mental Health Authority has played a crucial role in strengthening mental health in Ghana”.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo in her address noted, “I am informed the building is fitted with modern equipment in a serene environment to promote the dignity of its patients and reduce stigma. The building is also disability friendly.”
The Vice-Chancellor was hopeful the building will embody technology and humanism and will be an environment where patients and staff are respected.
Offering the background story of the foundation of the Department of Psychiatry, Prof. Angela Ofori Atta said the idea for an office complex had been conceived over 20 years ago.
She said the Department had also come a long way, from when they were located at the University of Ghana campus and rendered at the Accra Psychiatry Hospital.
She said later in 2013 the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital gave the Department space to enable them to train students and care for patients.
She was grateful for how far the Department had come and was hopeful the building and the story behind it will be a source of hope for staff and patients alike.
Mental health distressing facts in Ghana
At the ceremony, the President disclosed that mental health eats up 7% of our GDP which was in reference to a study conducted by three institutions.
The study was conducted by the University of Ghana’s Institute of Statistical, Social, and Economic Research (ISSER), in collaboration with Yale University and the Department of Psychiatry Department of the University of Ghana.
The study also showed that only 3% of mental health patients received services from orthodox psychiatric settings and that 7% of the country’s productivity was lost to ordinary Ghanaians due to mental health.
This comes on the backdrop of the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that, out of 32 million Ghanaians, around 2.3 million people live with a mental health condition and need mental health care.
One of the reasons why this happens is that mental health services in Ghana are significantly underfunded as Ghana’s health expenditure is roughly 4.5% of the gross national product.
Furthermore, only 1.3% of the health expenditure is allocated to mental health.
In addition, most mental health professionals i.e., psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, medical doctors, psychologists, social workers, and occupational therapists, work in mental health facilities located in cities.
Therefore, indicating that the allocation of resources for mental health is very much skewed toward urban areas.
To help address the challenges identified, stakeholders in Ghana agree that the administration was making significant strides by prioritizing mental health and increasing funding by over 200% over the last six years to support comprehensive care.
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