By: Nyima Sillah
A Matron at Tanka Tanka Psychiatric Hospital has disclosed that not all mentally ill people that needed to be admitted to Tanka Tanka.
Omar Bojang in an interview with this reporter, on Wednesday, explained that there are criteria which they look into, as some patients know what is wrong with them that even their family members can manage with them to allow them to take their medications at home, so it is easy with those people.
“Some can be in distress and the only way to help them is to make sure they are admitted and be under the supervision and good hands of professionals. We don’t usually admit someone in a mentally ill hospital without certain protocols which include assessing the person by a psychiatrist who will decide if the person needs admission,” he explained.
According to him sometimes family members will report some of these cases and seek help from the police, and the police will sometimes have the patient with them for 2-3dyas to observe if such person is acting abnormally. From their observations, he said, they will write a certificate of emergency and refer them to see a psychiatrist who will examine the person before they will be sent to Tanka Tanka for help. “We cannot just go to the street and select base on our observation.”
The only reason, he expressed, why patients are admitted is after assessment and it is realized that it is safe for everyone including the patient him/herself and others to be on constant observation at the hospital level. He noted that some of the patients are sometimes discharged but they can find it difficult in maintaining themselves and taking their drugs at home.
On their welfare, he said they are required to have three square meals per day, provide them clean materials to clean themselves, and a bed space each in a ward that contains seven to eight beds. “When it comes to the welfare of the patient, I can say it is optimal. Three-square meals are provided, cleanliness is ensured together with their safety,” Bojang added.
More so, “It is required in the health policy that the treatment for mental health is free so their coming here requires no charges. In an instance, these medications are not available in the government health facilities a prescription is written which makes it a responsibility of the family member to ensure that these medications are made available for their patients.”
However, he noted that Tanka Tanka is a place where they keep mentally ill persons for rehabilitation and incorporate and make sure they are treated and return to the community in good health.