The management of Basic Needs International, an NGO on Mental Health, on Tuesday presented 1,000 copies of "Essential Skills for Mental Health Care" to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to boost mental health care.
Mr Peter Yaro, Country Programme Manager of Basic Needs, Ghana, said the books, requested by GHS, were to augment community nursing in the country and work against stigmatization of mental patients.
He announced that Basic Needs would also be channelling its energies into improving epileptic treatment in Ghana.
Mr Yaro said in collaboration with College of Physicians and Surgeons the NGO would be organising a trainer of trainers' workshop in August for health personnel after which a survey on epilepsy would be conducted.
Madam Amina Bukari, GHS National Coordinator, Community Psychiatry, said with support from Basic Needs all districts in the country could now boast of community psychiatry facilities enabling people to access psychiatry care instead of travelling long distances for the few facilities in the regions.
She advised Ghanaians to seek medical check-up once a year adding that psychiatry care was not only about mental cases.
Dr Elias Sory, Director-General of GHS, said Basic Needs had made meaningful contribution to mental health and caring for destitute as well and noted that the donation came at a time when the world was reviewing primary health care to make it accessible to all.
He said the books were presented at the right time to enable the service to make significant input into Ghana's primary health care review, especially in the area of mental health.
Dr Sory noted that inaccessibility of mental heath care drove people to take medication for problems that required counselling compounding their problems.