Government Tasked To Give Incentives To Psychiatric Workers To Address Mental Health
The government has been tasked to put in place incentives for psychiatric workers as one way of addressing the overwhelming number of mental health cases in the country.
This was during the commemoration of the Mental Health Awareness walk in Fort Portal that was organized by Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital in Fort Portal Tourism City.
During the mental health awareness walk that was held in Fort Portal City, top leaders cried out to the government to look through the psychiatric workers as a way of pushing them more to deliver for the country. Father Pascal Kabura, a Psychologist says most of the health workers are not being encouraged to go for psychiatric education.
According to him, these have concentrated on other health fields leaving the field of psychiatry with very few experts to attend to it.
According to him, this is why the country is experiencing an increase in mental health cases since individuals who get the condition do not have anyone to attend to them.
The Ministry of Health report released in May last year, estimated 14 million Ugandans suffer from a foam of mental disorder.
Statistics from the Ministry of Health and the Uganda Counselling Association revealed that every 35 out of 100 Ugandans may be battling a mental health problem.
The above statistics according to experts are of people who have reported to health facilities with a cute condition.
However, the experts further reveal that the figures could have doubled given the restrictions that were brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Father Kabura further suggests that to entice health personnel to proceed in this field, their pay should be enhanced.
Martin Ibanda, the principal psychiatrist in charge of a Mental health unit at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital says the 35-bed capacity unit registers 30 new cases of mental health daily.
The government says the number of mental health has reached extreme limits and can no longer be managed.
Dr Richard Mugahi, the Assistant Commissioner in Charge of Reproductive and Infant Health at the Ministry of Health says efforts should instead go to addressing issues causing mental health.
