The Presbyterian Church of Ghana has inaugurated the first psychiatric hospital in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region.
It is a 10-bed specialist facility for the five northern regions since the Tamale Teaching and Central hospitals only have a unit and department designated for mental health patients.
Graphic Online reports that the well-equipped facility was built for €43,000 with funds from Friends of Bawku, a benevolent group based in the Netherlands, and the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.
Friends of Bawku funded two-thirds of the total cost of the facility, which was started in April 2022 and completed in September 2022, while the Presbyterian Church paid the remaining one-third of the cost.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt Rev Prof Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante is part of efforts to help address the issues of mental health cases across the country.
‘We see their condition as any other disease such as malaria or headache which can and should be treated,” he said, noting ”as a church, we believe in prayer as well as medical care since there could be spiritual and physical causes of mental health conditions,” he said.
