The Centre for Professional Studies(WIUC) in collaboration with Purple Point Neurodiagnostics, USA has donated some food items as well as toiletries to the Pantang and Accra Psychiatric hospital in Accra.
The Head of the Centre for Professional Studies Dr. Charles Acheampong in a brief interaction with the hospital management said the University had decided to collaborate with mental health institutions to help in Mental health awareness creation as well as directly provide solutions thereby decision to invest in a neurodiagnostic centre yet to be commissioned sitting at the university campus currently to help test certain mental health anomalies.
Dr. Acheampong added that the meeting with the hospital management was to start a relationship with the management of Pantang and Accra Psychiatric Hospital because of its position as a pillar in the mental health landscape in Ghana. Purple Point with sponsorship from the Harvard Rose Learning Fellowship and in collaboration with Wisconsin organized the awareness activities ahead of the official commissioning of the Neurodiagnostic centre which will be taking place on the 17th of January, 2023.
The Chief Operating Officer of Purple Point Neurodiagnostic Mr. Teguo Djoyum thanked the management of Hospitals for what they are doing for the people of Ghana and added that one of the mental health conditions Purple point was keen on addressing was epilepsy and was open to discussions and research on the issues epileptic patients were facing as well as taking steps to tackle these teething issues and encourage patients to seek treatment.
The Deputy Director in charge of administration, Mr. Collins Kesse of Pantang Hospital commended Wisconsin and Purple Point Neurodiagnostic for coming up to collaborate with the hospital to encourage more mental health promotion in order to bring out individuals having mental health issues to seek treatment. He appealed to the university to come up with short specialized courses in mental health to assist professionals to upgrade themselves.
The Head of Nursing at the Pantang Psychiatric Hospital Mrs. Linda Anane said epilepsy amongst other mental health mishaps culturally is thought of as a spiritual illness and not a medical one. She added that epilepsy is solved when people are ready to come for treatment that is where the fight can be won “The bulk of the work is in the rural areas because that is where people’s minds need to be re-oriented on mental health issues” she added.
Mrs. Anane said the stigma was deeply rooted to the extent that hospitals that have the capacity to treat especially epileptic patients refer them to Pantang Psychiatric Hospital which didn’t auger well for the fight to tackle mental health issues in Ghana.
Both hospitals promised to put good use of the items received From Wisconsin and Purple Point Neurodiagnostic for the benefit of patients currently on admission at their facility.
In attendance at the meeting were the Chief Executive Officer of Purple Point Mr. Lucien Kilonda, Dr. Daniel Walbert (a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) and the Head of Audit at Wisconsin Mr. Tetteh Samadji and other members of staff at the Pantang and Accra Psychiatric Hospital.
