Peter Matika, peter.matika@chronicle.co.zw
GOVERNMENT is set to implement a raft of measures aimed at decongesting Ingutsheni Central Hospital, the country’s largest mental health institution located in Bulawayo.
The institution is overflowing with an ever-ballooning population of patients mostly youths suffering from drug and substance abuse-related mental illnesses.
Drugs and substances are among some of the major causes of mental health illnesses.
Government recently announced that a multifaceted strategy has been deployed to decongest Ingutsheni through an inter-ministerial, multi-sectorial, community-based and institutional care approach.
Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora said the institution is the country’s largest referral hospital offering treatment and rehabilitation to those who have physical and mental complications emanating from drug and substance abuse.
Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora
“We have put measures to capacitate our staff through training on the World Health Organisation quality rights, World Health Organisation, and Mental Health Gap Action programme for Ingutsheni Hospital. We are now cascading to primary care clinics where the patients will get support after discharge,” he said.
“We are striving to improve the supply of medication which further ensures that the patients recover early and are discharged timeously so that other strategies that we are implementing, can take effect.”
Dr Mombeshora said some of the strategies include strengthening primary prevention through conducting open days for scholars to visit and gain knowledge of interventions for managing substance use disorders.
“Secondary preventive measures through screening for harmful use of alcohol and substances and offering a multi-layered referral network as treatment options. Early referral for people with substance use disorders who are suffering from complications of drug abuse to other tertiary care facilities,” he said.
“We will also reintegrate patients into the community coupled with a review and follow-up programmes.”
Dr Mombeshora said the strategies will also centre on reducing the demand for drugs by providing community-based recreational and vocational training centres.
He said the strengthening of supply reduction measures through holding inter-ministerial meetings at all levels of Government to capacitate police in making arrests of the drug peddlers and closing of porous borders.
“Broader demand reduction awareness programmes are being conducted in collaboration with the ministries responsible for education. The Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services has implemented a vigorous campaign using print, radio, television and social media,” said Dr Mombeshora.
He said the primary concern is to reach out to all citizens on how to prevent and manage drug abuse.
Dr Mombeshora said the engagement of religious and traditional leaders, parents and guardians to disseminate messages as the first line of defence is among the key strategies to elevate and fight the drug and substance abuse scourge.
“In the medium to long-term timeframe, all the aforementioned interventions will significantly reduce the health care burden on Ingutsheni,” he said.
It was reported that 90 percent of patients in the acute wards are admitted for alcohol and substance abuse while over 2 000 with the same problem are being attended to in the outpatient department every month.
This has led to overcrowding in the wards with numbers constantly increasing despite the hospital discharging patients every week.
Ingutsheni Central Hospital is a 708-bed facility but has acute wards where patients who are very ill from alcohol and substance abuse are admitted.
Ingutsheni chief medical officer Dr Nemache Mawere recently told our sister paper Sunday News that several challenges were being experienced in the acute wards.
“The Khumalo and St Mary’s wards are always overcrowded, particularly the Khumalo ward, it has a holding capacity of 89 patients and the facility is strained. We struggle to make things work in that area,” he said.
