Psychiatric Patients Relapse Due To Lack Of Essential Medications In 2018

Three community psychiatric units in the Tema Metropolis were in 2018 denied supply of needed essential medications leading to relapses of patients’ conditions.

The medicines included Olanzapine 10mg, Carbamazepine 200mg, Phenobarbitone 30mg and Fluoxetine 20mg.

The three community psychiatric units are in Tema Manhean Health Centre, Tema Policlinic and Tema General Hospital.

Mr Pious Tay, Mental Health Nursing Officer at the Community Psychiatric Unit of the Tema Manhean Health Centre, revealed this to the Ghana News Agency in an interview.

Mr Tay explained that the Units received no supply of the medications even though they needed at least 9,000 pieces of the Olanzapine, 5,000 Carbamazepine,3,000 Phenobarbitone and 2,000 Fluoxetine.

He indicated that the medicines were mainly for the treatments of depression, epilepsy, maniac and severe mental illnesses.

According to him, most of the medicines were not available at pharmacies making it difficult for patients to acquire even if they had the means to purchase it.

This, he indicated, led to relapses which often caused relatives to abandon the patients as they found it difficult managing them without the needed medications.

He, therefore, appealed to the Ghana Health Service, Ministry of Health, the Mental Health Authority and other stakeholders to help supply the needed medications to the various psychiatric units to efficiently attend to patients.

Touching on some of the illnesses handled by the three units in the Metropolis, he mentioned 250 schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorder in addition to 78 depression cases.

He explained that even though depression was high among women in the Metropolis, some men also suffered it in silence and may not seek medical attention.

Other recorded illnesses were 48 bipolar disorders, 31 organic mental disorders, 98 epilepsy/seizures, 14 post-traumatic stress disorder and 36 mental disorders due to alcohol use.

One autism patient was attended to while 62 mental disorders due to psychoactive substance use, 32 anxiety disorders, 14 pregnancy-related mental disorders and 16 attempted suicides among others were also attended to.

Source: GNA