By Yunus S Saliu
In spite of rising in mental illness which is now common among the youths not only in the cities alone but across the country, the Matron of the Tanka Tanka Psychiatrist Hospital has disclosed that cause of mental illness is still unknown.
Omar Bojang in an interview with The Voice newspaper said most of these diseases like diabetes and hypertension are on the genes of people and they are inherited.
But “the precipitating factors or the things that we think are more of a problem is stress related factors. If someone loses their compound by fire or loses a love one or a relative, these things can trigger relapse,” he explained.
Adding that, the stress related cases don’t usually stay longer, adding that at most times last three or four days.
“We don’t treat them, we support and stabilize them and they don’t get cured as they leave our facility, it is a continuous process and that is the reason we often involve their families and community members after they are discharge. As they are later rehabilitated back to their communities and then seen on appointment basis,” Mr Bojang said.
He continued: “most of the cases we have here are genetics, which is schizophrenia supported by drug induce psychosis. Alcohol and drug users, who end up becoming abusers in the quest for looking for places to bury their sorrows and develop these illnesses as time goes on.”
As the numbers of people with mental illness continue to grow, public safety has once again become a considerable concern.
When asked what his office could do about the daily presence of mentally challenged people in public spaces, Mr. Bojang said they are only dealing with people that are sent to the psychiatrist hospital (Tanka Tanka) either by the police or their relatives whenever they become a threat to themselves or to the public.
Meanwhile, he revealed that the current budget for mental health is D750, 000 and the treatment for it is absolutely free, but, however when consider the cost of medications, the budget is actually minimal.
He called on the general public to pitch in and supplement the government efforts, be it in cash or material donations, adding that the government is doing its best, as the cost of feeding one hundred mentally ill patients daily, is a huge responsibility.
According to him, Tanka Tanka Psychiatric Hospital is meant to accommodate one hundred patients at a time but the current intake is ninety-three, as they do have discharges and admittance almost daily and sometimes its runs up to ten or twelve a day.
Mr. Bojang advised family members of the patients to visit them regularly at the hospital and accommodate them at home whenever they are discharge, stable, calm and pose no threat to the public.
He stressed that treatment of mental illness is much more effective and easier when family members and the community is involved, the primary care level is for patients to be in the community and be taken care of.
A number of times, he said, they have received patients that do not fit the criteria to be admitted because family members are not supportive. Noting that it is easier for them as well when they are accepted in their communities, then they would be put on medication and on weekly appointment.
Thus, they are having psychiatric out patient’s clinics in almost every region manned by psychiatric nurses and some of these clinics even have psychiatric doctors already, he disclosed.