The chairman of the Association of Ghanaian Professionals in Ireland (AGPI), Dr Vincent Agyapong led a three member delegation including Mr Tom Maher and Mrs Sarah Surgenor, Director of Clinical Services and Communications Manager respectively of St Patrick’s University Hospital in Dublin on a week’s working tour of Ghana to familiarise themselves with the mental health service delivery system in Ghana. Before the tour began, Dr Agyapong gave a week’s lectures in psychiatry to final year medical students of the School of Medical Sciences at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. This would be the third consecutive year in which Dr Agyapong has delivered lectures to medical students in Ghana at no cost to the university.

The delegation’s tour began with an appearance on GTV Breakfast show by Dr Agyapong and Mr Maher during which the two shared their thoughts on how the mental health delivery system in Ghana could be improved. This was followed the same day by the hosting of the 2nd edition of the inter-medical school public speaking competition in Accra to promote psychiatry as a career option for Ghanaian medical students. This competition was sponsored by St Patrick’s University Hospital and St John of God Development Company in Dublin. The delegation later held an advocacy meeting with representatives of organisations working in the field of mental health in Ghana to learn about the challenges confronting their organisations and to explore ways in which the delegation could collaborate with them to address some of the challenges. Groups that were represented at the meeting included staff of the Department of Psychiatry at Korlebu Teaching Hospital, Basic Needs, Mind Freedom Ghana, Psych Info, the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Services and other non-governmental organisations.

Whilst in Accra, the delegation paid a courtesy call on the Minister for Health, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh at his office. The delegation impressed on the minister the need for Ghana to pass the Mental Health Bill into law and to invest more in the mental health of Ghanaians. The delegation also visited the Accra Psychiatric Hospital where they witnessed first-hand the deplorable conditions under which patients with enduring mental health difficulties are kept in Ghana. The lack of acceptable infrastructure as well as the lack of political will to modernise mental health services delivery in Ghana were very much evident on all the wards visited by the delegation. The delegation also visited the office of Mind Freedom Ghana where they held discussions with staff of the organisation about their activities to improve the rights of persons with mental health and disability in Ghana.

Next, the delegation visited Kumasi where they held meetings with the management and staff of the Department of Psychiatry at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital regarding proposals to establish a child and adolescent mental health centre at Kumasi. The delegation were taken round Kumasi to familiarise themselves with mental health institutions in Ghana’s second largest city. The delegation also granted an hour long interview on Luv FM, a popular radio station in Kumasi on ways to improve the mental health situation in Ghana. Concluding the visit, the delegation paid a courtesy call on the Manhyia Palace where they were met by the Akyampim Hene - Nana Oheneba Aduse Poku. The Akyampim Hene expressed the support of Manhyia Palace and the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu for the proposed establishment of a child and adolescent mental health centre at Kumasi. The delegation has since returned to Ireland to strategize on modalities to advance their noble intentions of helping to improve Ghana’s mental health delivery system.

For more information and to view pictures of these and related activities please visit our website www.agpireland.org