– appointment of Coordinator under considerationAlthough it was out of commission for a protracted period, the Ministry of Public Health’s Mental Health Unit is raring to execute its mandate, that is, spearhead efforts to help tackle the country’s mental health challenges.Minister of Public Health, Dr. George NortonMinister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, said during a recent interview that moves are being made to establish a Secretariat for the Unit. Currently, the Ministry is eyeing a building close to the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs to house the Unit.But the Minister disclosed that putting the necessary infrastructural measures in place would however require some funding which will have to be sourced. Without divulging where the funding is likely to come from, the Minister noted that “all we need is funding now and we can rehabilitate that building to make it into the Mental Health Unit Secretariat.”“The Unit has been there on paper all the time but what we are hoping to establish now is that Secretariat which will be managed by a Coordinator and will involve the services of psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, counselors, along with an office staff…,” said the Minister as he spoke of an ambitious plan to help reduce a troubling spate of mental health related issues.Already the appointment of a Coordinator, in the person of Ms. Deslyn Holder, is under discussion. According to Minister Norton, Holder has been identified for that position because of her wealth of knowledge in the field of mental health. Holder, he added, is a trained nurse who recently returned to Guyana from the United Kingdom.Based on recent discussions between the Ministry of Public Health and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), support will be forthcoming (from PAHO) to help forge ahead with plans to address the country’s mental health challenges.The Mental Health Unit, according to the Minister, falls within the ambit of the Ministry’s National Health Strategy.At a meeting last month with PAHO officials he said, “We have got to get that Mental Health Unit functioning. It is time. It is good to see what is in place; what is on hardcopy,” adding that there is need for active implementation of initiatives to tackle mental health challenges.At that meeting, PAHO officials spoke of plans to work with the Ministry to have its Mental Health Strategy completed and have it operationalised,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, using work plans executed by the Mental Health Unit.Speaking of plans to revitalise the work of the Unit, Minister Norton stressed that the support of PAHO, in this regard, is most welcomed.“I don’t know if it was just coincidental that the officer from PAHO was visiting to do that cost evaluation of our Mental Health Unit when we happened to be experiencing that situation,” mentioned Minister Norton, who was at the time alluding to a peaking suicide rate in the Region One community of Baramita.Suicide rates on a national level have reached troubling proportions in recent years, a development that requires that a Mental Health Unit be a priority, the Minister asserted.“When you sit and talk to people, you want to know why we did not put this Unit in action…What was keeping us back?” the Minister remarked disbelievingly, as he disclosed that many persons have voiced some plausible ideas that could help to boost the Unit’s operation. Among these have been suggestions to have the designated mental health area of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation transformed into an inpatient unit catering to patients with mental illnesses.The need for a national reach by taking advantage of the primary health care approach has also been gaining the attention of the Minister.The latter mode, he is convinced, could serve to ensure that people across the country have access to the very crucial mental health service by trained personnel.
