Georgetown : The Ministry of Health will soon be launching a National Mental Health Action Plan to deal with the numerous aspects of mental health. The Ministry is hoping to launch it in October on World Mental Health Day.
This was announced by Minister of Health Dr. Bheri Ramsaran who pointed out that
the plan will focus on the integration of mental health into the primary health care services, and would include training for family doctors, nurses and medex in mental health management along with improving Psychiatric Services at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
It will also focus on dealing with several contributing factors to the illness. These include the development of a National Suicide Prevention Strategy (NSPS), a Homeless Action Plan (HAP) and a Drug Rehabilitation Programme (DRP).
A draft for the Mental Health Promotion and Prevention Plan (MHPPP) will also be developed
Legislation is also one of issues that will be looked at under this plan. This will see the Guyana Mental Health Policy and Plan 2014-2020 being updated, the preparation of a policy and guidelines to use psychotropic substances and the finalisation of Guyana’s legislation in this regard.
Under this plan, human resource training will be given priority. Emphasis will be placed on incorporating mental health into the curriculum for professional Nurses and Nursing Assistant Programmes and the provision of the Masters in Medicine in the Neuropsychiatry Programme.
Minister Ramsaran noted that thus far 250 individuals from different areas of the medical field have been trained in this area. The Minister highlighted that emphasis will be placed on having more Cuban trained physiologists in the scholarship programme.
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