ARB Bank Ladies refurbish Accra Psychiatric Hospital nurses’ changing room
The ARB Apex Bank Ladies Association has handed over a refurbished nurses' changing room at the female ward of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.
The facility was in a deplorable condition, making it uncomfortable for the nurses on duty to work effectively.
Through the intervention of the association, the room was refurbished at an estimated cost of GH¢70,000.
A brief ceremony was held on the premises of the hospital at which the President of the association, Irish Obeng-Tuudah, handed over the facility to the Director of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, Dr Kwadwo Marfo Obeng.
Aside from the air-conditioned changing room, the scope of work included tiling of the floor, fixing of the ceiling, and painting of the exterior walls at the female ward.
Commitment
Mrs Obeng-Tuudah said the decision to refurbish the changing room for the nurses was part of the association's commitment to ensuring that they work in better conditions.
"We saw the emotional nature of the people here. Our female colleagues were sharing a unisex room, and we saw the need to intervene to solve that challenge so that they can, at least, have a dignified place to change and work well," she said.
Sigh of relief
Dr Obeng said the kind gesture of the ARB Ladies Association was enormous and would go a long way to solve a "big national problem" and motivate the nurses to work in dignity.
"Our nurses are leaving for greener pastures partly because the conditions of service are deplorable and the work environment is not accommodating.
If you work in this 1950s kind of structure, you can only continue to be here because of passion and the love for patients," he said.
Support
He called on the government to pay more attention to infrastructure development at the hospital to facilitate critical service delivery.
“We understand there are financial challenges, but we believe that prioritising health care, especially mental health, should not be taken for granted,” he said.
Dr Obeng also appealed to the private sector to come in and assist the hospital with infrastructure.
“We have a perennial problem with food.
There are more than 100 inmates here without families or anybody, and we have to feed them,” he said.
Background
For over 100 years, the Accra Psychiatric Hospital (APH) has existed as a national centre for the provision of mental health services.
Over the period, there have been major changes in the outlook and practices of mental health care.
Health experts have raised concerns that the buildings of the hospital were designed at a time when the concept of a prison or asylum was the norm, and are, therefore, ill-suited to accommodate the new and more humane practices of modern psychiatric care.
