Status of Mental Healthcare in Kenya
On Tuesday 10th October the people celebrated the World Mental Health Day in the midst of a nurses’ strike. The mental health patients are the most affected by the ongoing industrial strikes.
In Kenya, Mathari Mental hospital is the largest mental healthcare facility providing healthcare services in Kenya. It is closely followed by Port Reitz District Hospital in Mombasa. The latter has a mental Health and Substance Abuse Department for health patients and drug addicts. It’s a pity that Port Reitz is served by one psychiatrist and less than 20 clinical officers and nurses combined. Still the hospital serves a total of 40 in-patients and an excess of 60 out-patients.
The Port Reitz Hospital has a wide coverage area. It serves the following counties: Kilifi, Kwale, Tana River, Mombasa and Taita Taveta. That notwithstanding, in June the mental patients admitted at Port Reitz were discharged by force without considering whether they had recovered or not. The hospital management was forced to take this step because the nurses who serve them were on strike.
In Eldoret, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) serves up to 80 patients at a time which is considered to be double its capacity. Despite the large volume of patients who flock to the hospital, it is served by two psychiatrists and an additional four (4) psychiatrists from the nearby Moi University. Further, the 80 mental patients are served by three (3) clinical officers and five (5) nurses.
There are more than 4 million people in Kenya who are currently suffering from mental related conditions such as anxiety, depression and bipolar among others. These are common conditions which are confused for stress.
The government has not allocated sufficient resources to provide adequate mental health in Kenya. In terms of human resources, the country has 88 psychiatrists, 427 nurses and 14 mental healthcare facilities.
References
Norris, S. M. P., Forstag, E. H., Altevogt, B. M., Institute of Medicine (U.S.)., Providing Sustainable Mental Health Care in Kenya (Workshop), & Providing Sustainable Mental Health Care in Ghana (Workshop). (2016). Providing sustainable mental and neurological health care in Ghana and Kenya: Workshop summary.
