KINGSTON, Jamaica. Tuesday, May 7, 2024: From progressed community-based interventions to the modernisation of Bellevue Hospital, the Ministry of Health and Wellness is scaling up efforts to safeguard the mental health of all Jamaicans.
Speaking in his Sectoral presentation on Tuesday (May 7), Minister of Health & Wellness, Dr the Hon. Christopher Tufton said members of the public should anticipate best efforts to build on the gains from last financial year’s interventions.
“Our mental health programme – through the provision of training in communities under Problem Management Plus and the promotion of safe spaces in schools with the unveiling of Wellness Benches, done as part our Wellness Check-In intervention – has so far benefited communities across the island and more than 15 educational institutions,” he told Parliament.
“There have been more than 320 beneficiaries of Problem Management Plus – 271 having received training as providers and 56 from six parishes having received support from those providers,” the Minister said.
“More than 3,000 students have been reached with the Wellness Check-Ins that also feature small group sessions between vulnerable youngsters and our mental health professionals. This journey must continue as mental health is a major issue in our society,” he noted.
This new financial year is to see the deployment of Wellness Benches to another 20 schools while training is to be offered to another 40 community leaders in Problem Management Plus in order to help members of their communities to solve problems and build coping skills to manage stress.
UPSKILLING
“We will also do more by upskilling and deploying an additional four mental health nurse practitioners and some 80 psychiatric nursing aides into the community mental health services to enable greater responsiveness to persons with mental health challenges,” the Minister said.
The scaled up efforts in mental health, Dr Tufton said, will also include attention to the Bellevue Hospital.
“Our scaled-up efforts to tackle mental health challenges while supporting the mental wellness of the people of Jamaica will also see the continuation of our programme to overhaul the Bellevue Hospital campus to include the relocation and upgrade of the Emergency Room and Records Department as part of its transformation into a modern, 100-bed neuropsychiatric facility,” the Minister said.
“This while also leveraging new specialist roles added last year to introduce outpatient clinics and various new psychiatric services – previously unavailable or offered on an ad-hoc basis – together with the addition of a jogging trail around the perimeter of the 50-acre property that will be available to staff, patients, residents, and the community,” he added.
“Let me again remind us that mental health can and is likely to affect us all at some point in our lives. No one is immune. We must continue on this journey to mainstream our response and promote a more caring society for those affected by mental health challenges,” the Minister said further.