Medical Director/Chief Executive Officer, Isolo General Hospital, Lagos, Dr. Saliu Oseni, has said the secondary health facility has built a 10-bed psychiatric ward to address the challenge of admission spaces for patients with mental illnesses in the state.
Oseni said the creation of the psychiatric ward was crucial to reducing the burden of the cost of admission of patients with mental illnesses in private facilities which he noted was too expensive and beyond the reach of many families.
The medical director who disclosed this during the 2024 New Year Party/2023 Retirees sendforth organsied by the hospital recently, said Isolo General Hospital was likely to be the first general hospital among the many general hospitals in the state to get a psychiatric ward.
Senior mental health professionals in the country during the 2023 World Mental Health Day expressed worry that many Nigerians were no longer enjoying good mental health due to the country’s worsening socio-economic condition.
According to the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria, more than 60 million Nigerians are suffering from mental illnesses, noting that only about 10 percent of them can access appropriate care.
The medical director said the cost of admission at the psychiatric ward would be affordable to patients and also complement the psychiatric admission services currently offered in the state by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, and the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba.
The consultant general surgeon said, “The psychiatric ward provides affordable services so that those that cannot afford private settings can come here. Private admission for patients with mental illnesses is quite expensive.
“We aim to have a one-stop healthcare service delivery in Isolo General Hospital. It is a secondary facility but we believe that it is a semi-tertiary institution.
“It is an institution where you have so many experts and specialists in various sub-specialties of medical services. We are ensuring that patients are having a good experience.
“So very soon we are going to open the psychiatric ward. We realised that psychiatric patients getting a place for admission is like a camel going through the eye of a needle. I realised the only space for admission of psychiatric patients is in LASUTH and Yaba Psychiatric Hospital.”
Oseni, a former chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Lagos State chapter, also said even transportation for psychiatric patients was very scarce.
“I think creating the psychiatric ward is necessary. Most of the general hospitals do not have psychiatric admission spaces for psychiatric patients.
“Based on that, we felt that we needed to create a psychiatric ward. We are aiming for a 10-bed psychiatric ward. Isolo General Hospital is likely to be the first general hospital in Lagos to have a psychiatric admission ward. We are likely to have it in the next three months”, the medical director said.
He further noted that the general hospital had witnessed a giant stride in infrastructural development, staff welfare, and quality of service offered to patients since he assumed office last year.
Oseni further said, “The refurbishment and upgrading of the electronic medical report is currently in progress; purchase of 15 desktops and five laptops.
“The abandoned 30kva generator was refurbished and connected to the hospital electricity supply and it has continued to service the hospital
“Other achievements are repair of the 500kva generator, and provision of over twenty ceiling fans to replace the nonfunctional ones at the MCC and other wards, among others.
“All these were achieved because we were able to improve on our IGR within this short time through service improvements and expansion, but most importantly through the improved dedication of our staff.”
The medical director thanked the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu for the ongoing renovation within the hospital and appealed to the state Ministry of Health for continued support for infrastructures and equipment.
