By Our Reporter,
NATIONAL
The Executive Director of Butabika Mental Hospital Dr. Nakku Juliet has asked the ministry of finance to increase their funding to scale up specialised Mental health services in the country.
Nakku says they are overwhelmed by the increased number of mental health patients at the facility yet the money the facility receives annually is not enough to extend services to those in need.
“We are overwhelmed with a number of mental health patients after the covid 19 pandemic and Ebola. Our resource envelope is not enough to take care of staff welfare and provide services to abandoned patients aftercare,” Nakku said.
“This financial year 2022/2023 we requested for a supplementary budget from Parliament and we were given sh 2billion to cater for welfare and feeding. However looking at our expenses and the growing mental health disorders we want our budget to be increased this financial year 2023/2024, “she added.
She additionally said during the COVID-19 pandemic, the mental health units of most hospitals were converted to COVID-19 isolation units until May 2022, which reduced the provision of mental health care services in this period.
The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the need for community mental healthcare models in Uganda.
According to Nakku there were 28 outpatient mental health facilities available in the country, with none having a special clinic for children and adolescents only. The number of users per 100,000 general population treated by these facilities could not be established.
In Uganda, 19.86% of adults are experiencing a mental illness. Equivalent to nearly 50 million Americans. 4.91% experiencing a severe mental illness. The state prevalence of adult mental illness ranges from 16.37% in New Jersey to 26.86%
An estimated 14 million Ugandans suffer from a form of mental disorder, statistics from the health ministry and the Uganda Counselling Association have revealed.
“Many people in low- and middle-income countries face daily challenges, and their mental health has been additionally burdened by COVID-19. Psychologists in Uganda have been trying to help,” Nakku explained.
Butabika Hospital provides access to a wide variety of medical specialties for a full range of clinical services, as well as primary care. This brings together the work of physicians, nurses, and other care providers across the hospital to ensure that patients receive comprehensive and personalized care.
The hospital intends to acquire ISO certification this year. Recently the facility launched the first MR
