By Abigail Headley
In an effort to decentralize mental healthcare services and to better target suicide and its triggers in Guyana, the Ministry of Health has launched the National Mental Health Action Plan and the National Suicide Prevention Plan for the years 2024-2030. The launch, which took place yesterday, was collaborated by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO)/World Health Organisation (WHO).
Delivering the feature address, Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony disclosed that efforts were being made by the ministry to decentralise mental health care services in the country, making them more accessible in various regions.
“A lot of mental health care was centralised at the George-town Public Hospital. And so, one of the steps that we have taken is to take this out to other regional hospitals,” he said. “So now people can access mental health services in Regions Three and Two because we have decentralised. Of course, we have had mental health services being offered in Region Six, because that’s home of the National Psychiatric Hospital and they also go across to Region Five. In Region Four, apart from what we do at the Georgetown Public Hospital, we’ve been sending out people… to different parts of Region Four. We have also been sending people out to Region 10. For the areas like Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine, because we have a telemedicine infrastructure, we can offer tele-psychology/psychiatry…”
