An Association has been formed to help educate the public on mental health and other related issues in the country.
The Ghana Mental Health Journalists and Writers Association which is open to all journalists and writers, is expected to complement the work of the Ghana Mental Health Association (GMHA), which was already into education, advocacy and support of mental health patients in the country.
The Reverend Godson King Akpalu, President, GMHA, at a ceremony in Accra, said the involvement of journalists and writers in mental health issues was critical in preventing the negative "opinions" and stigmatisation of mental patients.
He said currently the GMHA was collaborating with other associations involved in various programmes relating to mental health and would assist journalists and writers with the necessary education and information through seminars, symposia and workshops to help them bring out credible reportage.
He noted that most media reporting often misinformed and featured negative images of patients that tend to create much pain and distress among both affected families and other persons in the society.
"We need to assure the public that mental health is not a condemned situation for some selected persons, but a condition that could affect anybody. We must all join hands in the fight to achieve better outcome in the end," he said.
Mr Stephen Adzaxo, Senior Nursing Officer of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital (APH) noted that mental health had not been given the needed attention and had not been treated as a health issue, saying, "This has contributed to the low government support and attention and the current increase of the problems of the various facilities in the country."
He said the various Psychiatric health institutions in the country were currently beseeched with numerous problems ranging from lack of health personnel, medication, and poor infrastructure.
Mr Adzaxo said the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, which was established to accommodate 600 patients currently, had 1,096 inmates and had only 542 beds for both male and females.
He said of the psychiatric institutions had a mortuary, even though efforts had been made to acquire one.
"The drug we are using now for treatment of patients are outmoded and needed to be replaced with modern ones that are more effective," he said.
Mr Adzaxo called on journalists to be committed to the task of influencing government policies and programmes on mental health issues and also promote their own status to be able to deal with stresses associated with their own work.
Mrs Patricia Akpene Agbo, Media Representative and Executive Member of the GMHA urged journalists to give positive reportage on mental health and also educate relatives of mental patients not to abandon their relations at the hospital even after they were treated.