Accra Psychiatric Hospital gets renovated washroom facility

The Ghana International School (GIS) has inaugurated and handed over a renovated washroom facility to the Accra Psychiatric Hospital as part of its commitment to promoting healthcare development. 

The newly refurbished facility, unveiled at a brief ceremony in Accra, is expected to enhance hygiene, comfort, and accessibility for patients, staff and visitors at the hospital.

It featured a handwashing unit and soap dispensers to enhance hygiene, spacious cubicles and a ramp, among many other features, to ensure accessibility for individuals with mobility challenges, among others. 

Respect, gratitude

The Chairperson of the Parent-Teacher Association, Efe Ogundowole, iterated that as an institution they believe that everyone deserved respect and care, especially during challenging times, adding that they would continue to advocate mental health issues.

“We are proud to have assisted the Accra Psychiatric Hospital in renovating the client washrooms because we know that this creates a more dignified space for clients and people who come to check on their families and their guests,” she said.

She, therefore, called on other schools, business and corporate entities, non-governmental organisations and development agencies, among others, to emulate the gesture and support both mental health professionals and their patients. 

The Principal of the school, Frank Amponsah-Mensah, noted that the institution had been embarking on charity work and supporting the less privileged, including mental health patients for five decades.

In that vein, he expressed his gratitude to the hospital for accepting the school’s donation and allowing them to help the vulnerable in society get the care they needed to survive and eventually contribute their quota to society. 

Fighting stigma

The Hospital Director, Dr Kwadwo Marfo Obeng, said the project marked  a significant achievement in the fight against the stigma of mental illness, a fight for the provision of quality mental healthcare, and the struggle to improve access to mental healthcare in the country because mental health facilities were places most people didn’t like to associate themselves with.

“I've seen teachers reduced to subsistence farmers, or even worse, who have just become dependent on their families. However, assessing them clinically, there was no reason for this, beyond the fact that the person genuinely believed himself or herself that because they had the illness they could not be productive. They could not continue to work as a teacher,” he said. 

Dr Obeng, therefore, emphasised that creating an environment that conveyed respect and dignity was essential to countering internalised stigma and supporting recovery.

The Hospital Director added that  renovating spaces such as washrooms to high standards could play a significant role in such efforts as clean and well-maintained facilities signal to patients that they were valued and deserved better care.