Can improving mental health and nursing care be simultaneously achievable?

Jul 03, 2016 News

---

By Sharmain Grainger

Some may describe mental instability as a curse or some unnatural interference. But health sectors across the world see it as an ailment that can be treated. It may surface in a variety of ways, some more undetectable than others, but could prove to be equally devastating.
A man snaps and chops members of his family to death or a young girl takes her own life by consuming a poisonous substance have all been acts linked to mental instability.
Addressing such conditions fall under the purview of the Ministry of Public Health. But improving the nation’s mental health has been no easy task.
Mental instability can come in many forms and it is no respecter of race, gender or political persuasion.
It has without doubt been a challenge. But how does the health sector recognise and simultaneously cater to the needs of someone with a mental ailment? It simply isn’t always possible, since a cry for help often goes unnoticed.
Some family members are also known to keep such conditions under wraps rather than seek help.
In fact some persons are chastised when they exhibit symptoms synonymous with mental instability. The condition is essentially stigmatized, making many fearful of sharing what they experience leading up to the manifestation of a mental breakdown.
But there are others who are accused of merely wanting attention when they speak of being mentally unstable. In fact this was the complaint of a young man during the past week.
He claimed he ingested a poisonous substance and therefore required medical treatment. He was reportedly taken to a public health facility.
But according to the young man, the nurses at the health facility were less than accommodating, given his reason for being there. He alleged that a nurse related that she was not prepared to care for anyone who wanted to take their own life, and even encouraged him to complete the process. He claimed he was verbally and physically abused and thrown out of the hospital. The authenticity of his allegations is being investigated.
The young man certainly seemed unstable. Whether he really did consume a poisonous substance I do not know, but I do recall hearing him repeatedly insist that he wanted to just die.
Maybe a bit of counselling could have been enough to put him back on a path of mental wellbeing, but sadly many persons, including myself, are guilty of not doing too much to lend a caring hand.
While we all may not feel obligated to be our brothers and sisters’ keepers, this should, however, never be embraced by a health care professional. Understandably they may be hard pressed, every day of the week, to cater to the needs of far too many patients, but it is expected that an individual claiming to be a medical professional would operate with some sense of compassion.
A number of nurses over the years have been found lacking when it comes to this crucial trait. Many patients have been witness to this, and the conclusion is often simple – these individuals only see nursing as a means of earning an income. Granted it is, but it has long been established that nursing and compassion must go hand in hand — just take a look at those credited with initiating the profession.
But deliberate efforts are being made to bring back compassion to the profession.
An initiative conceptualized by a patient, who because of her health condition is required to have many visits to health facilities, both public and private, will perhaps be the salvation of the nursing profession.
Sabina Kazim, who suffers from sickle cell anaemia, has seen the best and the worst of nurses.
In fact she was over time able, along with others similarly inflicted, to make a list of the good and bad nurses.
After much consultation with senior officials within the health sector about her initiative, ‘100 awesome nurses’ was born. It was officially launched last week at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
It is designed to honour nurses who went beyond the call of duty to bring comfort and treatment in a loving manner to patients in their care – the premise of true nursing.
A mere 19 out of a reported nursing staff of hundreds were recognised as “awesome” enough to be awarded at a ceremony last week.
Their names, of course, were chosen by patients who experienced their nursing care.
But it is anticipated that before the year ends at least 100 nurses would have been compassionate enough to gain the “awesome” status.
Essentially, a domino effect is being hoped for, whereby the attitude of a compassionate nurse will be emulated by a not-so-compassionate colleague.
It is anticipated too that the ambitious initiative will bring about a much-needed positive change, not only at the GPHC, but also other health facilities as well.
With compassion as the cornerstone of the profession, the possibilities could be endless.
But on the flipside of things, some nurses may argue that they are not paid nearly enough to deal with some of the cases that confront them. This is even against the background that persons are often urged to enter the profession because of passion and not pay.
However, the nurses, at least at the GPHC, have an avid supporter. He comes in the person of Dr. Carl ‘Max’ Hanoman, Chairman of the Board of Directors there.
At that very forum last week, he stressed that better wages was key to improving the delivery of nursing care. In fact he made it clear that the resilience of the health care system was dependent on that.
Now if the importance of increased wages is seen as an imperative at all levels, why not make it a reality?
The health of a nation is the wealth of a nation. This to me means that even with the brightest minds envisaging all types of developmental plans, without proper health care we may remain a few steps away from achieving our goals.
We must accept that the cost of living is high, and Dr. Hanoman did put into perspective that nurses are likely to function more efficiently if their families are also well taken care of.

---

---