By Alex Daniel Digi
Health Authorities in Tambura County Hospital said, there is increase in cases of Mental Health in the area over the past one year.
Speaking to No.1 Citizen Daily Newspaper, the Mental Health Psychological Officer in Tambura County Hospital, Cosmos Alioni said since last year, he has recorded an increment in Mental Health cases in the area.
The officer appealed to the Government and NGOs to increase the human resource and fund to manage the mental health issues in the Hospital. He said in the outreach department for the period of one month he spent in the hospital awareness has gone and more patients are expected to plunge in.
“Issues reported for treatment are increasing, from first day I came to the hospital it was 3 patients, but now they have started to increase from seven and above per day, and yet that was on short notice where so much sensitization has not been done, and as awareness is ongoing, we are going to expect more patients per day maybe 20, 30 or 50 within the coming weeks,” he said.
Cosmos said the causes of mental health is conflict, displacement and instability which affected the mind and changed the live behavior of someone. He called on the people to stop referring mental illness to witchcraft and bad behavior of someone in the past, he said it is the change of mind when there is trauma.
The Psychological officer called on the people to report any case or sign of Mental illness to the Hospital for treatment and management.
“My message to the people about Mental Health Problem is that, people in the community around should not take it as a traditional thing, or curse, or someone has been bewitched or because of their wrong acts that they have grown mental problem, no,” he advised.
“Mental problem begins with psychological problem, as a result of being displaced, conflict and so on, and they are taken under hard condition previously they use to live comfortable in your home and that kind of thinking begins gradually until it manifests now into full blood mental illness,” he said.
“My message is, if there is any abnormal behavior experienced in a child or adult then they need to come for physiological services since there is a successful service now in the Hospital so that the issues can be addressed in the Hospital,” Cosmos advised.