The Presbyterian Church of Ghana has refurbished an existing staff accommodation block on the premises of its Health Centre in Bolgatanga into a Specialist Psychiatric Hospital for the Upper East Region.
The 10-bed capacity specialist facility, jointly funded by the “Friends of Bawku” based in the Netherlands and valued at about €43,000, has two consulting rooms, male and female wards, nurses’ station, changing room for staff, records unit, lavatories, and office space for administrative staff.
Work on the refurbished facility, which would provide Out-Patient services, Forensic and Geriatric Psychiatry services, drug and alcohol detoxification, and psychotherapy services, among others, started in April 2022 and was completed in September 2022.
At a ceremony to commission and dedicate the facility, the Right Reverend Professor Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, said the initiative was part of the social interventions and services of the Church over the decades.
He said apart from the Church’s intervention in various sectors of the country, including education and the agricultural sectors, it had provided 57 health facilities spread across the country.
“We are the third largest provider of health service in this country as a Church. Government of Ghana is number one, the Catholic Church is number two and the Presbyterian Church of Ghana is number three. The Upper East, North-East and Upper West Regions are hosts to the largest number of these social intervention programmes,” the Moderator said.
He said out of the 57 health facilities in the country, 17 were in the Northern part of Ghana, noting that “We engage in these social services as a command from our Lord. We do them because that is what is in the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In an address delivered on his behalf, Dr Emmanuel Kofi Dzotsi, the Upper East Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), thanked the Presbyterian Health Service for their contribution to health service delivery in the region.
He said the GHS had no psychiatrist in the region and commended Dr Dennis Daliri, the Specialist Psychiatrist in charge of the new facility, for his services. “He goes on outreach to most of the Districts to build the capacity of the Mental Health Nurses in the Service.”
On his part, Dr Daliri thanked the Church and their Netherlands partners for the support, and indicated that there were about 58 active Psychiatrists in Ghana, but most of them were in the South and out of the number, three were in the Northern Region and one in the Upper East Region.
“This then means that we have a lot of responsibilities in our hands. The current idea of integrating mental health into primary health care provides a window of opportunity for us to solve this problem.
“This solution has been challenging because of inadequate Specialists in the area to supervise the work of our other colleagues helping in the field of mental health,”
Pe Ditundini Adiali Ayagitam III, the President of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs, said the facility was the first in the Region, and would save residents in the Region and beyond from the stress of travelling to Southern Ghana for special psychiatric services.
He acknowledged the enormous contributions of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana in education and health among other sectors and on behalf of the Chiefs and people of the Region expressed gratitude to the Church and its development partners.