Mental health: “Our job is not to keep people institutionalised” – Health Minister tells Police

A changing environment in addressing mental health patients has led to new positions on treatment.
Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony has positioned that in keeping with this, patients should not be institutionalised for a long period of time, but rather, be treated and discharged.
He was speaking on mental health as a public safety issue on Friday during a Guyana Police Force symposium at the Police Officers’ Mess Annexe.
The symposium was held under the theme, “Improving Police Performance Through Stakeholder’s Approach”.
Dr Anthony said the mental health legislation has been upgraded to adopt modern mental health practices.

“How we practice psychiatry now is much different from the way we did years ago. Today, our job is not to keep people institutionalised; the idea is to treat and return patients to their homes,” he outlined.
The Minister disclosed that modern psychology sees acute episodes in patients, which when treated caused stabilisation resulting in a timely return of patients to their families.
“We are no longer keeping patients for an extensive time in our institution. The practice of psychiatry is changing, and these are the international norms we are embracing and adopting in Guyana.”
One in every eight persons globally experiences a mental health disorder. With mental health disorders containing 22 categories, he said that anxiety, depression and neuro-developmental disorders are most prominent in Guyana.
In addition, Minister Anthony made mention of training programmes that are available through the World Health Organisation (WHO) to better improve mental health practices. The Ministry is equipped with 16 psychiatrists, and a post-graduate programme providing training to psychiatrists as they respond to the needs of patients.
“We also have two child psychiatrists, and a forensic psychiatrist who can respond to legal issues,” he added.
With mental health as a global concern, the Ministry of Health is looking towards extensive collaborations with the Guyana Police Force shortly, to provide training and support in dealing with persons with mental health disorders.
As of September 2022, the Mental Health Protection and Promotion Act has been in effect.
Enshrined in the law is a series of rights for mental health patients, including access to care.
The Act provides for the mental health care of persons suffering from mental illness and protects, promotes and fulfils the rights of those persons during the delivery of mental health care. Additionally, it seeks to promote the mental health and well-being of persons in Guyana and to ensure that all persons receive the best mental health care.
When the Bill was tabled in the National Assembly, it provided for the setting up of a Mental Health Board, while repealing the mental hospital ordinance.
When the Bill was passed, Dr Anthony had labelled the legislation as a modern one that would positively impact the level of care for persons suffering from mental health issues.
While the traditional method of addressing mental health patients was to institutionalise them, the Health Minister had positioned that this way does not allow for them to be integrated into society.
The modern way is to manage them without such harsh restrictions, and the Act now lays the foundation for Guyana to implement such. (G12)