Abstract
During March 1998 we had the privilege of visiting the mental health services in Kumasi, Ghana at the invitation of Dr Yaw Osei, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Behavioural Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, University of Science and Technology.
Highlights
During March 1998 we had the privilege of visiting the mental health services in Kumasi, Ghana at the invitation of Dr Yaw Osei, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Behavioural Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, University of Science and Technology
The psychiatric unit at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital consists of an 11-bed inpatient unit and an out-patient unit consisting of three rooms and a small secretarial area
There is a private clinic and in-patient unit in Kumasi run by a psychiatrist who works with the medical school as a part-time lecturer facilitating some co ordination of care between services
Summary
The first asylum for mentally ill patients was opened in 1888 at Accra, the capital city on the south coast of Ghana ( the Gold Coast). The hospital was intended to care for a maximum of 122 patients, but two years later there were 275 in-patients (Forster, 1962). In 1951 Dr Forster, a Cambian psychiatrist trained in the UK, was appointed. He was the first African psychiatrist in sub-Saharan Africa and remained at Accra until 1970. By 1960 the asylum housed 1700 patients and another hospital was opened nearby at Pantang in 1975. There are 800 beds in Accra Hospital, but up to 1500 patients. The hospital at Ankoful, near Cape Coast, was opened in 1966 with 500 beds and has provided care in the south-western part of Ghana. A psychiatric clinic was set up and an in-patient unit followed in 1989
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