The Mednet Group directors have been in Ghana launching a
new Community Mental Health programme. The proposed community model is a
bespoke service for Ghana based on a successful model introduced in health
systems throughout the world that gives healthcare professionals the tools they
need to engage with patients, families and carers to empower them to manage
long term conditions, including severe mental health conditions.
The Ghanaian Mental Health Authority serves a population of
23.4 m people and it is estimated that around 3% of the population have a
severe mental illness. Attigo, part of the Mednet Group, has been working on
the creation of the Community Mental Health Project. At the core of this
project is empowering patients and carers to have greater control of their
mental health through the implementation of a structured programme of
psychoeducation and further interventions delivered by healthcare
professionals, using a newly developed app.
The success of this pilot study will help to shape mental
health provision in Ghana through helping patients to remain in the community
by providing education to both them and their family or carers on their
illness, medications and monitoring for warning signs of relapse which can make
stability and recovery a real possibility. Previous programmes of this type
have shown significant reductions in inpatient days, reduced costs to
healthcare systems, alongside a decrease in the severity of ongoing
symptomatology.
The psychoeducation modules for this programme cover medical
and spiritual models of mental illness, diagnosis and symptoms, causes of
psychosis, and importantly, ways to manage the condition with medicines,
self-care, planning and non-drug interventions, to reduce the chance of relapse
and work towards recovery.
Mental health is a key priority for Ghana. Over the course
of the coming months, in line with best practice, the Mental Health Authority
in Ghana are planning to reduce their dependence on inpatient facilities and
hope to improve care delivered by community resource. This evidence-based, bespoke
community programme will be a real step towards achieving this goal and should
have a significant impact on patient outcomes.
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If you would like to find out more about our work and how we can work with you please contact us via mail@attigo.me or call us directly on 0113 386 4415.