By Gami Tadanyigbe, Abuja
The Federal Government on Friday, laid a foundation stone, for the construction of Mental Health Care block, at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, UATH, Gwagwalada, FCT.
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, who laid the foundation, said the centre if completed would transform and enhance the treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, for prevention, recovery, and cure.
According to him, the centre aims to provide public health mission, to foster innovative thinking and ensure full scientific perspectives to further discovery in the evolving science of brain, behavior, and experience.
“This project aims to arrive at a national program that would approach adequacy in meeting the individual needs of the mentally ill people in the country.
“The project if completed will enable us have an international standard centre where we can manage mental health challenges.
“The centre will have a 76-bed block with facilities for specialised therapies, an emergency area, consulting, psychotherapy, seminar rooms and a pharmacy,” he said.
The minister said there was need to have the centres across the 36 states of the federation to ensure the country was better prepared to handle mental health challenges in the country.
He also commissioned two other facilities in the hospital to include: the Accident and Emergency Unit which was a 32-bed Unit with an intensive care unit (ICU), radiology suite, dialysis unit, fully equipped.
Prof. Bisala Ekele, the Chief Medical Director of UATH reaffirmed the commitment of the hospital management to ensuring optimal utilisation of the centres for health development in the country.
