As part of Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital’s 60th Anniversary celebration, the hospital organized a Specialist Mental Health Outreach on Friday, 22nd August 2025, at Kissi Health Center in the Central Region. This initiative reflects the hospital’s commitment to decentralizing mental health care and supporting community health facilities in delivering comprehensive services to those in need.
A Future-Oriented Mission
Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital has provided excellent mental health care for six decades. As the hospital celebrates this milestone, it seeks to embrace the future by extending specialist care to underserved communities, bridging the gap between mental health professionals and patients.
The Day at Kissi Health Center
The outreach team departed Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital at 8:30 am and arrived at Kissi Health Center by 9:20 am. The team was warmly welcomed by management and clients already waiting to receive care. With the support of community psychiatric nurses stationed at the center, the day’s activities commenced promptly.
Key services offered during the outreach included:
- Primary physiological assessment
- Specialist medical consultation
- Counseling and psychosocial support
- Medication administration
- Nutritional guidance
- Occupational therapy (OT) interventions
And the best part? All these services were provided free of charge!
Methods and Services Delivered
The outreach adopted standard medical protocols to ensure quality care:
1. Vital Signs Monitoring
Blood pressure, temperature, and pulse rate were checked for all participants. Some clients presented with dangerously high blood pressure readings—between 160-180/100-130 mmHg. These individuals were immediately detained for further observation, and pharmacological interventions were initiated to stabilize their condition.
2. Rapid Diagnostic Testing (RDT) for Malaria
All participants were screened for malaria using RDT kits. Fortunately, all results were negative, ruling out malaria as a complicating factor in patient symptoms.
3. Specialist Medical Consultation
Participants engaged in one-on-one consultations with specialist psychiatrists and medical officers, ensuring that each case received expert attention.
4. Nutritional Counseling
The dietician provided educational sessions on healthy eating habits, emphasizing their role in supporting mental and physical well-being alongside medication adherence.
5. Counseling Services
Professional counselors offered person-centered sessions, guiding participants to make informed decisions about their health and helping them navigate life’s challenges.
6. Pharmaceutical Services
Essential medications were dispensed on prescription, ensuring clients had access to appropriate treatment before leaving the center.
Key Observations
The outreach recorded a significant number of participants presenting with seizure disorders, highlighting a critical need for anti-seizure medications and neurological care in the community. However, the team acknowledged a gap in prior data collection, which limited preparation for the high prevalence of this condition.
The Way Forward
To improve future outreach programs, the following measures have been recommended:
- Conduct thorough pre-outreach assessments to understand the patient population and prevalent conditions.
- Supply additional medications to local health centers for follow-up dispensing, ensuring continuity of care for clients seen during the outreach.
A Step Toward Mental Health for All
This outreach not only marks Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital’s 60th Anniversary but also reinforces its vision to bring mental health care closer to communities, breaking barriers of distance, cost, and stigma.
Together, we can create a future where mental health care is accessible to everyone, everywhere.
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