Hundreds of mental health patients thronged the Ajumako District Hospital, to access free mental health care after BasicNeeds – Ghana, a pro mental health organisation organised an outreach programme to assist patients in desperate need.

“This number is overwhelming, we budgeted for about 100 patients but now as you can see they are over 200, they are getting to 300 and even more are still coming,” Mr Sunday Anaba, Projects Officer, BasicNeeds, Accra, told the Ghana News Agency.

“In our normal days of treatment or review, we usually attend to, sometimes 100 or 120 but today I don’t know why they are coming in their numbers like that, this is too much,” Augustus Andrews, Mental Health Officer at Nkwantanum also said.

BasicNeeds organised the outreach programme partnership with Mental Health Society of Ghana, metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies in the Central Region as well as the Ghana Health Service.

Beneficiaries under the programme with funding support from UK’s Department for International Development are also expected to get technical assistance from the organisation to engage in income generation activities.

The programme is on the theme: “Support the government of Ghana build a national mental health system that effectively and efficiently responds to the mental health needs of the population.”

“We assist them to form groups, may be 10 to 30 in each group, and offer them continuous training to acquire some skills in the areas each individual best fit, this will many to buy their own after may be the programme comes to an end,” Mr Sunday said.

Mr Kwesi Frimpong, a father of 20-year epileptic daughter said the high cost of mental health drugs coupled with its scarcity on the market posed serious threat to treatment, as patients are sometimes forced to take below the prescribed dose.

“The hospital [Ankaful] used to give us but now they have stopped so we have to get it from outside but that one too is too expensive, but these people [BasicNeeds] say they would help us, we’re very happy we thank them for reducing our burden,” he said.

Similar outreach activities have also taken place in Abura Dunkwa, Assin Fosu, Cape Coast Metropolis and Kasoa.