In March 2020 Uganda showed her strong intentions to fight COVID 19 through her government. Many measures were put in place to curb the spread of COVID 19 in Uganda. These included closure of schools, public transport, curfew put in place, closure of places of worship, among other.
Thanks to the government for its initiatives. How these measures are helping in the control of the spread COVID 19 is an area which am not exploring on today but rather the mental illness cases which are rising so drastically. There more admissions into the mental units at the different levels during the lockdown period than it was before.
This is not good that these cases are increasing, but to make matters worse is the luck of facilities to admit these patients. Mental health cases are handled at national referrals in the different regions which have been turned into treatment centres for COVID 19 patients leaving the mental patients with no place to get treatment.
This has left the mental patients with no position but rather become litter on the hospital compounds. This is dangerous to the patients and to the community.
With all the measures to co-exist with other patients with in the hospitals, mental health patients are special and different in way of being handled and treatment. This co-existing is not yielding results.
One would wonder why the mental unit was the best option for government to turn into the treatment centers for COVID 19?
As we treat COVID 19, we should not forget that some of the measures put in place to curb it are causing an increase in mental illness cases in communities. The increase in depression, anxiety, suicide, among others are common new admissions to poorly located mental units.
This sudden shift of the mental units in the referral hospitals is also making it worse for the patients. Psychologically mental patients are tortured by this sudden change of environment and making it worse to uncertain places.
The out patients who come from distant places in these villages are bounding back with no treatment, with high costs of transport because of these changes. It has got to be very difficult for the clinicians to work on the patients. There is no access to patient data base, not certain of work stations, leading to the suffering of the patients and worsening of their state.
The government should reconsider its decision on this matter of turning the mental health units into COVID 19 treatment areas. By the time COVID 19 is out of here we may end up with dysfunctional communities.
How I wish government comes out to address this issue with a lot of seriousness. Remember not any facility can be turned into a mental health unit but rather those designed for that.
Lives of mental health patients matter.
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