Ingutsheni Hospital chief executive officer Nemache Mawere has called for community-based care programmes that will see mental patients being assisted at primary level to curb overcrowding at the psychiatric institution.
This follows reports that several patients at the hospital are being neglected and have to rely on basic supplies from their families.
Mawere told Southern Eye that having community care programmes would alleviate overcrowding at the hospital.
“If there was a fully functioning system, mental patients should be assisted at primary care facilities where nurses screen them and assist them accordingly. If the problem is minor, they should be assisted in community care programmes, which we do not have now,” Mawere said.
“If we had these, the community could have psychologists and social workers in the community who follow up on these patients with the assistance of health professionals.’’
Mawere said the main admission ward had more patients than the available beds in the ward.
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“Currently we have 140 patients in the main ward, but we only have 98 beds. The number can rise to 200 sometimes,” he said.
Mawere said patients from Mpilo Central Hospital and United Bulawayo Hospitals were referred to the institution for detoxification and treatment of major health problems like psychosis.
Government recently announced plans to implement measures aimed at decongesting the hospital.