A Psychiatric Department of the Jos University Teaching (JUTH), Dr. Taiwo Obindo has disclosed that over five thousand persons with new cases of mental health have been identified in Plateau State in the last one year.
“In the last one year there are over 5, 000 new cases of mental health in Jos, which is very high. And the fact is that the facility, we have is not even enough.
Taiwo made the disclosure while presenting a paper in celebration of the World Mental Health Day. The celebration which was organized by the Jos University Teaching Hospital Psychiatric Department in collaboration the Nigeria Medical Association, with the theme: Living with Schizoprenia, held at Gindiri in Mangu LGA of the State.
He said, “Schizophrenia is one of the mental disorders, a condition in psychiatric where the individual has problems with his thinking, the way he interacts with people and that tends to affects him in his functioning.
“The way the person thinks and the believes he has is aucward. He maintained.
He further explained that some with Schizophrenia tends to hear voices and see things, which other persons don’t.
“We have people that are vulnerable that need our attention and help.
“It is possible for someone with Schizophrenia to function well.
Taiwo who is the Head, Department of Psychiatry noted that lecturers, doctors, nurses and every strata of the society has cases of Schizophrenia.
“This year we chose Schizophrenia because is one of the major mental illnesses that we treat and treatment tends to be prolonged, because people with the illness tend to I’ll for a longtime.
“A lot people believe that it cannot be treated in the hospital so they rather go for traditional medicine, spiritual intervention. But (WHO) is saying it is possible to leave with Schizophrenia, because is any chronic illness in the body. Somebody who has glaucoma in the eye or hypertension still leaves with it, all he does is take his medication.
The Psychiatrist said one of the preventive measures is for women to attend complete antenatal care that is for primary cases, while the Secondary prevention is to reduce the mobility.
In his remarks, the Plateau State Chairman of Nigeria Medical Association, Dr. Pokop Bupwatda, said the management of JUTH want to expand its comprehensive healthcare services to rural communities.
“Services Opsetrics and Gaenacology, which will help in reducing maternal mortality.
Bupwatda maintained that surgeries would be performed in the JUTH centre in Gindiri, which will reduce the stress of travelling to Jos.
On Psychiatric cases, the NMA Chairman who is also the Medical Supritendent of JUTH Comprehensive Center in Gindiri, said, “We are starting the community Psychiatric here, that is why we are marking the World Mental Health Day at the Center here, in order to commence the Psychiatric management, so that people don’t have to Shendam, Quan Pan and others from the Southern Plateau to travel all the way to Jos to collect their drugs, and if there are new cases, they can be handled here.
“The Resident Psychiatrist would be here and the consultants would be coming to supervise them.
“This is done in collaboration with department of Community medicine and that of Psychiatry”.
