Concerns over mental health
I read today, Friday, a piece in the Island Sun newspaper written by Jennifer Kusapa which dealt with the MHMS plans for dealing with persons in the community with mental illness during a period of lockdown.
I quote Jennifer’ article in full.
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) says it has plans in place for persons with mental illness during a lockdown.
MHMS Covid-19 Incident Controller, Nemia Bainivalu says in the event of a lockdown they “catch” persons with mental illness who roam the streets of Honiara and place them in the mental health facility at the national referral hospital (NRH).
For those they cannot “catch”, MHMS refers their cases to the police “to deal with them”, says Mr. Bainivalu.
Mr.Bainivalu was responding to questions asked on whether or not the Ministry has plans to look at mentally ill people during a lockdown exercise and during a real lockdown in response to any covid-19 community transmission here.
He said they have plans and during the 36-hour lockdown; they have a facility provided for them and those ones where they manage to get them, they keep at the facility at the National Referral Hospital.
“We actually took some out of the streets and place them at the facility, but others we cannot catch them because they are moving from place to place very fast, and we have arranged with the police to deal with them,” Bainivalu said.
Mr.Bainivalu also said they have arranged with the Correctional Services to place the mentally ill at the facility CSSI uses to admit inmates in.
During the previous three lockdowns, persons with mental illness were reportedly allowed to roam the streets of Honiara.
Several social media posts have images taken of few freely roaming around in various locations in Honiara.
End of quote.
Comment
I do not know the full extent of mental health concerns in the Solomon Islands or the numbers of persons thought to suffer from mental illness but agree persons roaming freely around during a period of lockdown that might not understand the lockdown exists, or are even aware of Covid should be assisted off the streets.
I carefully use the word assisted and not catch as catch implies something rather derogatory.
The NRH is said to have a “facility” but some explanation I believe is needed to assess what kind of facility is available and what kind of medical or therapeutic treatment is given to those housed there. Importantly, too, for how long are those thought to be mentally handicapped kept there?
Are those assisted off the streets allowed free after any lockdown period?
Mr. Bainivalu has said arrangements have been made with the Correctional Services to place the mentally ill in the facility used to admit inmates. In simple terms to lock them up.
If that should be the case it seems the practice of locking mentally ill persons away is a throwback to a practice followed in the early 1960s in some former colonial territories and a practice that has since been long abandoned.
Nowadays, new and improved generation of anti-psychotics drugs are released, and they are shown to be more effective at treating schizophrenia, psychosis, and other disorders as well as having fewer side effects.
With the continuous improvement and development of better anti-psychotic drugs health authorities should be able to treat symptoms more efficiently than ever before! What started as very basic “talk therapy” years back has transformed into a multifaceted branch of study that allows for unique approaches and develop efficient treatments for each individual who experiences mental illness.
It seems to me that in the Solomon Islands with the continuous improvement and development of better anti-psychotic drugs we should be able to treat symptoms more efficiently than before!
We need to take unique approaches and develop efficient treatments for each individual who experiences mental illness.
Also, those persons assisted off the streets must have relatives somewhere but is anything done to find out whom and where they might be?
In view of the adverse effect on families of the virtual imprisonment of people with severe mental health problems, there should be moves to provide treatment and therapy in a more appropriate and secure residential environment, including such a facility at the NRH.
Perhaps, this letter could invoke some debate on the difficulty of dealing with mental health concerns.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
