BY SAMIE WAIKORI
Auki
MENTAL Unit of Kilu’ufi hospital in Malaita province assures that the hospital provides service for severe mental disorder patients in the province.
Doctor in charge, Dr Rex Maukera encourages patients to be brought to the hospital for treatment rather than leaving them to stay untreated in the communities.
He said people with mental illness deserve to be with good health treatment and enjoy life just as anybody.
Maukera made the call following concern reaching this paper on an increase in mentally ill people in Auki town.
Maukera said Kilu’ufi hospital under the Mental Unit provides services that come with treatment and care for the ill.
“There is a process to follow and it’s very important for relatives or family members of people affected with the illness to aware.
“The process required that family members or relatives have the responsibility to bring people for the service.
“You won’t expect staff at Mental Unit at Kilu’ufi hospital to come to you and take them for treatment because it’s outside of the confine areas of our work.
“So it’s your responsibility and everyone’s responsibility to help bring them for medical treatment and care,” he said.
Maukera explained that what many do not realise is that mentally ill people do not know that they are sick or that they need medication.
“So like I say the responsibility falls back on family members and relatives to play the role.
“Sometimes the police can do but it only comes when mentally unwell person is causing threat to family members or community.”
Maukera explains there are three types of treatment modules they can apply for mental patients when admitted at the hospital.
He said first is “biological treatment” in which they treat the person with drugs for the illness.
Second is “psycho-education” in which they try to education the severe mental disorder about the illness.
Maukera said third is “rehabilitation and family support” in which the core of the work lies on family and relative of the person.
“To be honest most of the work we do centered on ‘biological treatment’ and “psycho-education” as they are within the means of our capacity.
“We also obliged to do rehabilitation but after the patient return from our care, the responsibility is on family members and relative to care for the patient.”
