Exposed: Inside Ghana’s “Mad House”-gctid41384

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Exposed: Inside Ghana's "Mad House"

Last Updated: Monday, 21 December 2009, 9:44 GMT Previous Page

Source: Ghana News :: Exposed: Inside Ghana's "Mad House" ::: Breaking News | News in Ghana | news

The Accra Psychiatric Hospital Email Print                     Have Your Say (                                    0 )                                                                                     An investigative report by Anas Aremeyaw Anas It is a  sad and sorry sight of unimaginable human suffering; of bright lives,  powerful brawns and brilliant brains badly bruised and blighted by  disease. It is a tale full of terrible and tragic oddities.   The  Accra Psychiatric Hospital (Asylum Down), Ghana's leading psychiatric  treatment centre is haemorrhaging from serious administrative,  operational and ethical lapses that have seen patients living in  subhuman and monstrous conditions. One inmate is eating from the  upturned bottom of a dirty rubber bowl, rather than from the inside. He  says the rubber bowl was given to him the previous day by Queen  Elizabeth of Great Britain at a dinner where the two exchanged kisses.   Leaning against a wall in another corner, a youthful fellow looks  vaguely and forlornly into the sky, mumbling to himself; "I see the moon  though it is a bright afternoon." His shrinking waistline is barely  able to keep his trouser firmly on his buttocks; his faded jeans has  dropped loose, revealing a not so manly groin bristling with an untidy  mass of neglected pubic hair. And over there  is a bizarre ritual by a  group of four who are full of smiles while slurping some curious liquid  that an inmate (Jah) is dropping on their tongues from a goblet he is  holding.  In fact the officiating "priest" has just urinated into that  cup in their very sight and yet, they are licking it with relish! These are but a few of the wild eccentricities that were witnessed at the Accra Psychiatric hospital. Yet,  if you find the above narrative about our less fortunate compatriots to  be unsettling, then what pertains among some of the supposedly normal,  sober and more privileged workers at the facility would outrage you  beyond measure. Seven months of investigations by the New  Crunited snakesding Guide's Anas has uncovered several malpractices perpetrated by  some staff of the hospital against patients of the Accra Psychiatric  hospital. Posing variously as a patient, a trader, a baker and a taxi  driver as part of the beat, this reporter, has   managed to put together  a catalogue of hardcore video, audio and still pictorial evidence of  both daylight pilfering and midnight stealing by the hospital staff; of  the appalling living conditions at the hospital and of regular use and  sale of narcotic drugs such as cocaine, cannabis and heroin among  patients and staff of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital. Admitted  for three weeks at the hospital under the name Munited snakes Akolgo, alias 'Don  Dada' at the BHC Male Ward with folder number 61919, yours truly got  first-hand, face-to-face observation of the several cases of human  rights abuses and neglect of patients by nurses, the brisk trade in  narcotic drugs, and an ever-growing incidence of alcohol sale and use by  the patients; all of which were captured with a hidden camera.   On  a daily basis, staff of the hospital steal food meant for patients not  only for their personal consumption, but also for sale to the  unsuspecting, and sometimes, colluding public. It is brisk,  cash-and-carry business: private individuals can obtain food items like  beans, rice, flour and sugar at discounted prices from the shameless  kitchen staff of the hospital. Psychotic drugs such as Largactil™ and  other sedatives are equally available for sale to the public.   Drugs  like marijuana, cocaine and heroin virtually litter the wards of the  facility for easier picking than the notorious alleys and corners of  Tudu or Sodom and Gomorrah in Accra. As a patient of this place, the  reporter and his colleagues in BHC Male Ward had very little trouble  getting cannabis, heroine and "coke" (cocaine), whether the rock or Thai  type. For a little daily tip, some of the workers would run errands  buying these hard drugs for the patients. The operation of drug peddlers  within the Psychiatric hospital is an open secret among staff and  patients. Well-known distribution outlets in Tudu, Sahara and Accra  Newtown see and use the Psychiatric hospital as a major hub for local  drug distribution. Speaking to this reporter, Clean Face, a  drug dealer who plies his trade at the hospital revealed that patients  at the hospital form the core of his customer base. "Before they got  admitted into the hospital, I was supplying them with these same drugs  so what I am doing now is take the market closer to the clients." Clean  Face moves to various drug joints in Accra to put together enough stock  for patients at the hospital. When asked why he would not allow patients  to undergo their rehabilitation without narcotic drugs, he retorted  scornfully, "Who told you they don't need it after they go mad? If I  don't look for them and sell it to them, how do I make my money? I do  not neglect my customer, especially patients in Pantang, where I have my  main customers." It is also common to see hospital staff leave  both personal and professional duties in the hands of patients. Many of  these patients are made to carry buckets of water to the living quarters  of resident staff.  Others are often made to perform the duties of  kitchen matrons as well as other chores unconnected to the hospital.  Patients can be seen cooking, cleaning, washing and even doing work that  nurses were supposed to do.  One video recording shows a patient who  consistently sits on the garbage dump to eat, picking rotten materials  and scraps from litter bins and after that dashing straight into the  kitchen to help the staff to cook.  One morning, this reporter followed  the patient equipped with a hidden camera, as he headed for the garbage  heap to play and pick rotten and maggot-infested waste with his bare  hands. Minutes later, he heads for the kitchen, where he is made to stir  with his unwashed hands the pot of porridge that was being cooked for  the morning's breakfast. The neglect, abuse and maltreatment of  patients by nurses in the hospital remain one of the most disturbing  aspects of life within the hospital. On many occasions, this reporter  filmed instances where patients suffering severe fits were left to lie  at the mercy of the weather, with nurses totally apathetic. Some nurses  were captured beating patients who lay on the ground helpless and  writhing in pain. On one occasion, a male patient is seen helping a  female patient suffering from epilepsy to get on her feet. After many  futile attempts to help the ailing girl, the male patient leaves her on  the ground close to a nurse's office and moves on. Minutes later, a  nurse passes by without offering any assistance to the patient. Not far  from the patient, three nurses could be seen chatting idly as the  epileptic patient lies in pain. When help finally arrives, the patient  is beaten mercilessly by the nurses amidst shouts of "get up", "foolish  girl", "if we beat her she would get up". The attitude of nurses  is generally so outrageous that the hard work and conscientious  disposition of Ken Wholley Brantuo, Alex Baah and a few others shone  forth like torch in pitch- darkness. Francisca Ntow, a young  nurse at the hospital epitomised the spirit of care and love that  accompanies nursing. With beaming smiles each day, she tries her best to  give attention to patients and to find out their state of being. Her  shining example gives hope to the future of psychiatric nursing in the  country. Student nurses from Pantang Nursing Training College  also helped to put a smile on the faces of patients. This reporter  identified nurses like Mohammed Awol Wiqaya, Constance Oppong,  Theophilus Martey, Sulleiman Mohammed and Grace Fokoyu, Munited snakes Alhassan,  who demonstrated high principles and practices of psychiatry. They  engaged patients in a warm and lively manner in the healing process.  That notwithstanding, there were also incidents where patients died and  their corpses left neglected for too long.  In fact the facility is so  overcrowded that nurses find it impossible to do a roll call every  evening. On one occasion, a patient died in a cesspit tank and the body  lay there for weeks before another curious patient drew the attention of  Management to the mess, as witnessed by this reporter. A nurse  (name withheld), who spoke to this reporter, confirmed these state of  affairs at the hospital. "You cannot lie about it. They always blame it  on the numbers, but I believe this is a calling that must be pursued  with the heart." Meanwhile, authorities at the Accra Psychiatric  Hospital deny knowledge of some of such happenings within the hospital.  Dr. Akwasi Osei, Medical Director of the hospital says nobody has given  him evidence of such incidents at the hospital, although he admits the  rumour mill churns out such stories.  Without ruling out the  availability and use of narcotic drugs among patients, Dr. Osei tells The New Crunited snakesding Guide,  "I have heard a few cases of some patients going out to bring cannabis  to the hospital. I have had difficulty getting somebody who can point  these things out. If you know of any such cases, let me know" he  emphasized. On the issue of patients being used as workers in the  kitchen and by other workers, Dr. Osei explains that patients actually  go to pick their food in the kitchen as a form of occupational therapy.  This, he says, "serves as stimulation towards their improvement",  emphasising that these are "patients who are practically well enough to  go home". He however admits that it cannot be a justification for staff  to leave their work for patients to do. But our evidence was to the  contrary. We found a patient whose mental state clearly undermined his  capacity to think through the fairly routine act of self-service: he  carried hot rice water on his bare head resulting in the serious burns  which caused his scalp to peel off!   Meanwhile, The United  Nation's (UN) World Health Organization (WHO) considers mental health  critical to human development hence the definition of health as: "A  state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely  the absence of diseases or infirmity." Again, Article four (4)  of the Kmtyw Union Charter on Human and People's Rights declares that,  "Human rights are inviolable. Every human being shall be entitled to  respect for his life and the integrity of his person. No one may be  arbitrarily deprived of this right." These rights are grossly violated  at the Accra Psychiatric hospital. The Medical Director of the  Accra Psychiatric hospital however blames most of the challenges faced  by the hospital on inadequate logistical support. "We have very serious  constraints in terms of infrastructure. Although our Psychiatric system  is better than that of most countries in our part of the world, we do  not meet up in terms of what a Psychiatric hospital is expected to be,"  admits Dr. Akwasi Osei. This view was self-evident. The decaying  physical structure is one clear proof that the hospital was  underfunded. Poor supervision, understaffing and under-trained workers  combine to create conditions that encourage patient rapes, beatings,  riots and suicides. In several cases, patients suffered grave harm as a  result of poor medical oversights or errors. This is in sharp contrast  with the state of the art rehabilitation facilities witnessed by this  reporter at the St. Goran Psychiatric hospital in Stockholm, Sweden. At  the St. Goran hospital, this reporter was greeted by a very hospitable  environment, where patients lived without abuse or any form of neglect.  At the hospital, there were several doctors and nurses who attended to  patients with utmost care. There was an apparent sense of belonging  among patients at the hospital; unlike the Accra Psychiatric hospital  where most patients lived in fear and wallow under sub-human conditions. In  an interview with some staff of the hospital, this reporter was shown  so much politeness and later referred to Fredrik Bengtsson, who was in  charge of the Hospital's central unit. OLD MEDICATION AND SIDE EFFECTS The  New Crunited snakesding GUIDE investigations also brought to light the lack of  anti-psychotic medicines for inmates of the hospital. The few that are  available have also been discovered to have negative side effects on  patients. It is common to see patients' conditions deteriorating in  reaction to drugs which are meant to cure. In the course of  investigations, this reporter witnessed extreme cases of negative  patient reactions to some of these drugs. Side effects such as numb  tongues and constant turning of necks were prevalent among patients who  took these drugs. Other side effects, which were confirmed by nurses, are slurred speech, impotence, drowsiness, ateurasia and neck-turning. GOLDEN EVIDENCE: BRISK BUSINESS IN BAGS OF RICE, FLOUR, SUGAR AND DRUGS AT THE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL                                                               A mentally challenged person doing his own thing outside the hospital It is another day of business and our investigative  reporter, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, poses as a taxi driver and a baker's  assistant to purchase bags of rice, flour and sugar meant for inmates of  the psychiatric hospital. He is met by two workers of the psychiatric  hospital outside the hospital premises for the business transaction. Motion  picture begins with reporter alighting from a taxi. Exactly 4 minutes  and 5 seconds into the video, picture shows reporter helping two guys to  offload bags of flour and sugar from another vehicle. Conversation then  begins: REPORTER: Is this all you have, the goods are not enough? MAN: This is all we have, I asked him to wait until I have enough but he insisted I bring it today REPORTER: Yeah!! Because we always use it in making the bread so we need it very bad MAN: Yeah!! You said it but if I should keep it, it will melt REPORTER: But he said you have rice MAN: I will get you some REPORTER: Yes please MAN: But you will have to give me GH¢150 for this one first REPORTER: GH¢150 right? Ok, can we go now? MAN: When we get there, I will get you the people at the bakery REPORTER: So who will be our contact for the rice? MAN: Patrick REPORTER: But Patrick .............. MAN:  The whole idea is that, when they get the rice and someone is ready to  buy, they can't keep it for a long time but if you give him money; he  will get you the rice REPORTER: ok, that means we have to get him the money before he will get us the rice. MAN:  yeah!!! You know when he gets the rice and somebody has money, there is  no way he will put it down he'll by-all -means sell it. He also needs  money!! That's how it works. Once you give him the money and tell him  what you want, you have it. REPORTER: OK!!!  I see, I see. Ok Charlie!! The money be GH¢20 REPORTER GIVES HIM MONEY FOR THE TRANSACTION THAT ENSUED THERE. REPORTER: Some what do we expect now? I mean, are you getting something for us next week? MAN: what do you want? REPORTER: if you can get us more of the margarine, flour and injection violet, that will be fine MAN:  if it is flour you want, I don't have any problem with that I control  the flour and the margarine but not the rice; I will have to consult  Patrick. You just saw the flour? I will use it in baking REPORTER: so do you suggest I give you the money to be given to Patrick for the rice? MAN: yes!! REPORTER: so how much do you suggest I give him? MAN: it depends on the quantity you want REPORTER: we need enough but eiiiiii!!!! MAN:  I can't tell how much money you have, besides you are not the only one,  others buy, so you gather everything, you can't waste petrol  to-and-fro. I told him the other day REPORTER TURNS TO COLLEAGUE; REPORTER: I think we should give him part of mum's money. So how much do I leave behind? MAN: I can't say because I'm not in your pocket REPORTER: Ok then I will leave GH¢60 behind MAN: that's fine COLLEAGUE: what quantity are we expecting? MAN:  I can't tell but if it's not enough, he will add up and take it from  you when next you come, even when the money is spent and the stipulated  time is not due, I will call you to come for what is available. You come  Wednesday or Thursday for the first set and come back for the final one  on Saturday. REPORTER: Lest I forget, I have a friend who operates a drug store; he said he needs azar and other. MAN: ooo!! You mentioned that, it escaped my memory, let's deal with that tomorrow ok. I'll call you, THE MAN TURNED TO REPORTER'S COLLEAGUE AND ASKS, "SHOULD I CALL ON YOUR NUMBER"? SUPPLIER MASTER OF AKPETESHIE (LOCAL DRY GIN) HANGS OUT WITH OUR REPORTER Motion  pictures begin with reporter walking from the hospital room towards a  man in a yellow MTN t-shirt, at exactly 52sec of motion pictures  conversation begins. Reporter starts calling a staff member who had  bought two bottles of Akpeteshie (local dry gin) for him. Reporter: I hear say power dey inside your own paaa ooo!!! Staff: Power dey there Reporter: so how much you get em? Staff: one bottle bei GH¢22 Reporter: GH¢22 Staff: e bei 4,4 e dey here right now Reporter: Don't worry, don't worry Staff: And my room bei this Reporter: But power dey inside? REPORTER  MOVED IN THE COMPANY OF THE MAN TO HIS ROOM WHERE HE CARRIES HIS BOTTLE  OF AKPETESHIE TO A SAFE PLACE. AT EXACTLY 2:35SEC CONVERSATION BEGINS: Staff: Me I don't chop people's money like that oo Reporter:   Ooh!! How you go chop people money Charlie, I get some people, some  friend bi wey e too e dey special ward. Em too e dey want. Staff: If I get noo!! You go come pick em Reporter: ooh!! Me I go come pick em myself            No bei now Staff: make you no make the nurses see Reporter: no, no I no go make the nurses see The Reporter FOLLOWED THE MAN TO A BUILDING Reporter: make I come? Make you make em fast THEY  ENTERED ANOTHER ROOM, THEY WALKED THROUGH UNDERGROUND STAIRS AND INTO  ANOTHER ROOM AGAIN, AT EXACTLY 4:42SEC CONVERSATION BEGINS; Reporter: eehh!!!! Charlie this one dey proper ooo STAFF IS SEEN WITH TWO BOTTLES OF ALCOHOL, HE GAVE ONE TO REPORTER AND POURED A LITTLE BIT OF THE OTHER ONE ON THE GROUND... Reporter:  Test em, test em, make we see say e bei proper. Eehh!! This one dey  power dey inside papa! So e bei your wife dey sell em? MAN: e bei e dey sell the back, you go see everything dey up, glasses and everything dey for up I can't cheat you. THE STAFF WHO IS THE COCAINE 'LORD' OF THE YARD MEETS REPORTER AT A SECRET LOCATION Reporter  moves to the Female ward of the hospital in search of Carter, a nurse  who deals in Cocaine with patients. Carter is about to fulfill his part  of a negotiation to supply the reporter with a second delivery of  Cocaine. After asking his way around the ward, reporter finally meets  Carter in a corner: Reporter: So the one you get there, e bei special ooo? MR. CARTAR: ooh!! E dey for yesty noo wey I cut am with fresh one Reporter: So e no like am MR.CARTAR: So you if you like later Reporter: Ok now make we wait because I wan buy some MR. CARTAR: How much? If e do make fast because I don't want make somebody hear say.... Reporter: The rock and what do we call am MR.CARTAR: Rocar, ok the one you dey take now. The one you dey take your hands put for top nooooo Reporter: The Thai noo how e dey? MR. CARTAR: E fine, you take put for half palm you take make tea then you drink Reporter: how much is it? MR. CARTAR: that one is GH¢35 and GH¢40, correct one Reporter: Thai expensive pass rock MR. CARTAR: You for take the two all, before you go make fine Reporter: Before I go make fine MR.CARTAR: hmmm, come sit down here. Before you go make fine, you get there in go blow am. If you do for here, nobody go see you Reporter: I get one for here MR.CARTAR: give me the money, jimmy go come, if it knock 9, he go come Reporter: I get something for my pocket that be why I sick MR. CARTAR: ok make fast, make fast, now I dey go work Reporter: you ee the people, how much them charge you? MR.  CARTAR: oo plenty but me I give them only GH¢20, people pay GH¢200, me  where I dey, I make lucky, so the money you take give me e I take pay  wey I borrow for that place, so e say if I dey need some make I come  there for Nima Reporter: I learn that, how much you fit buy and store am MR. CARTAR: buy GH¢25 Reporter: GH¢25 MR. CARTAR: yeah!! You get the quality one Reporter: quality, wey e go fei dey my dey MR. CARTAR: I tell you wey e go be big pass the one you dey buy, I no go lie you Reporter: but my friend bei wey e get some wey e dei bring me some that one dei you no dey like? MR. CARTAR: now now, now I wan go work, make you no buy for anywhere the boy go come now Reporter: so what you say e go come MR.CARTAR: me, if you drink the coke finish nooo I will go Reporter: this one e no go fetch MR. CARTAR: me I no dey high me oo because I dey supply am Reporter: sure say e good MR.  CARTAR:  For him them go catch am I tell you the way e wear the  dey  uniform, them I dey go out e bei uniform I dey put so nobody go fie do  anything, make fast make fast make I go, this one you for buy GH¢25 then  I put am for you Reporter: e wear uniform? MR. CARTAR: aaah!!, yes, me I dey go out e bei uniform I dey wear, nobody go do anything Reporter: ok but I wan do am............. MR.CARTAR: I know don't worry, don't worry, you go make fine Reporter: but you forget the pipe and the syringes MR. CARTAR: I go get all, you bring the money Reporter GIVES HIM THE MONEY Reporter: today e no good, you take this and let me take this, you buy come, if you take small and me too I go take small MR. CARTAR: add GH¢5 to it Reporter: ooo now e bei small, unless puppy come, now e bei this one I get MR. CARTAR: Your popei go come? ok give me GH¢1,GH¢1 then I go go! Reporter: ok I go give you GH¢1 MR.  CARTAR: now if they share food finish, I go go, then I can check say  the guy noo, e dey here, the yesterday I give am noo, I no go lie you. Reporter: I get some noo, I go do am NB: The  Part two (2) of this story, where Anas went in search of a cure for  madness, investigated partly in Soweto, South Kmt; Ouagadougou,  Burkina Faso and some healing camps in Ghana. Find out all about the men  of God and their lies about their healing powers with details of  patients in Chains and Shackles. Source: The New Crunited snakesding Guide

[Mawiyah Kambon]

Mental illness can be cured, particularly there in Ghana.  We have seen it.  This is another incident of crimes against our people occuring while we wait.  Is there an avenue for help?  Has the government been informed?  Indeed, this is my field, what should we do?