New hope for mentally challenged patients in Grahamstown is on the way in the form of an initiative to help their families reintegrate them into the community.
New hope for mentally challenged patients in Grahamstown is on the way in the form of an initiative to help their families reintegrate them into the community.
Retired nurse Lulama Mkumatela told Grocott’s Mail she and the Settler's Hospital nurses hope to open up a day care centre for the mentally ill whom have been discharged from Fort England. This centre would be used to try and help discharged patients with necessary skills so that they can make a living.
The skills include gardening, cooking, woodwork, bead-work and literacy for those whose schooling was interrupted.
“We are trying to bring a glimmer of hope to those mentally challenged patients and in the process we are also helping their families as well,” Mkumatela said.
In a telephonic interview with Grocott's Mail, Fort England CEO Dr George Walsh said this was a great initiative because there is a gap between the community and the mentally ill, "If we had premises suitable we would gladly avail them but all our buildings are far from the townships or central town which is unfortunate," Walsh said.
The idea has also been brought to the attention of Specialised Services in Bhisho and they are on board, he said. The initiative hopes to help teach families on how to handle a mentally-ill individual. It also seeks to bring about change in the community as there are many ill people wondering the streets.
The Khula Nathi centre, which means “together we grow”, hopes to find premises where out-patients, referred by Fort England on discharge, can receive continuited treatment and care. “I appeal to anyone who can lend a helping hand to provide shelter for the patients so that the project can get under way,” Mkumatela said.
Mkumatela explained that there is great need for a project of this nature as looking after out-patients can be very stressful for some family members. “They are not trained to care for their relatives and often many patients default on their medication which creates a vicious cycle of re-admittance to Fort England,” Mkumatela said.
The facility will operate during working hours from Monday to Friday. This means families can continue with their weekly routines without having to worry about their ill family members.
