Abstract
SummaryThis paper describes a link between a mental health trust (the East London Foundation Trust (ELFT)) in the UK and mental health services in Uganda which has developed since 2004. the aim of the link was to help support the development of mental health services in Uganda by establishing an educational partnership. During the first 3 years, nine staff from ELFT and nine staff from Butabika, from a variety of disciplines, have made short-term exchange visits. Evaluation of the link has demonstrated that benefits have been experienced in both London and Uganda. Such links can provide one way of strategically supporting and strengthening existing health services in low- and middle-income countries.
Highlights
Mental health problems in low- and middle-income countries, such as Uganda, form a significant proportion of the global burden of disease[1] and there is a need to find strategies to tackle them
Alcohol and drug services; . child and adolescent services; . post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) services; . community mental health services; . acute in-patient services; . particular professional groups - psychiatric clinical officers, occupational therapists, psychologists and social workers. In setting these goals we aimed to harness the specific experience and expertise that existed in East London Foundation Trust (ELFT) to support and strengthen professional initiatives already instigated at Butabika
The link was set up with the help of the Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET), a voluntary agency that aims to strengthen the training of frontline health workers in less developed countries by establishing links for their hospitals/training schools with their counterparts in the UK, had already supported the work at Butabika Hospital since the mid-1990s
Summary
This paper describes a link between a mental health trust (the East London FoundationTrust (ELFT)) in the UK and mental health services in Uganda which has developed since 2004.The aim of the link was to help support the development of mental health services in Uganda by establishing an educational partnership. Mental health problems in low- and middle-income countries, such as Uganda, form a significant proportion of the global burden of disease[1] and there is a need to find strategies to tackle them In many of these countries there is a shortage of mental health professionals, which can be partly explained by recruitment of staff to the UK and other wealthy nations.[2,3] This has led to demands for high-income countries to support the development of mental health capacity in low- and middle-income countries.[4] some commendable individual efforts have been made,[5] more formal partnerships, or links, between UK institutions (such as National Health Service (NHS) trusts and universities) and health institutions in low- and middle-income countries are required that would provide a more long-term and sustainable impact on healthcare development.[6,7]. We describe the experiences of a link that has developed since 2004
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