• Nakuru is expanding and modernising its mental health Centre of Excellence at Gilgil Subcounty Hospital.
• The surge in mental illness and suicides is a crisis necessitating more care, awareness and funding.
Image: KNA
Facing a mental health crisis, Nakuru county is spending Sh231 million to expand and modernise the centre of excellence for mental health at Gilgil Hospital.
County chief of public health services Dr Daniel Wainaina said mental health problems in county have reached "crisis levels that no longer can be ignored".
He said the situation had deteriorated because of the problems and stress caused by the Covid-19 pandemic on the society and environment.
“The crisis has been eclipsed by political and social events. Relegating mental health away from priorities of citizen welfare translates to an increase in violent crimes, suicides, rebellion among teenagers and gender-based and sexual violence." Wainaina said.
"We need to put in place systematic county-level response to address the underlying causes."
He announced Governor Lee Kinyanjui’s administration this month will employ more mental health nurses at the Nakuru Level 5 Teaching and Referral facility at Gilgil subounty Hospital. The facility has only 25 nurses at this time.
Dr Wainaina spoke when the county signed and MoU with the Kenya Medical Training College, Eldoret campus.
He said lack of awareness and stigma associated with mental illness translates to more undiagnosed 'normalised' conditions that were symptomatic but untreated.
He said the county department of health was addressing the problem of stigma, which he called a major barrier in accessing care.
"People with mental illness should not be subjected to any form of discrimination. This will encourage many people to get help before it's too late.
Dr Wainaina said if those with mental health disorders do not seek treatment, the prioritising mental health services will suffer a setback.
“If we don’t think people need mental health care services, we don’t provide them, even though the evidence is all around us,” he observed.
The doctor said mental health represents only 0.5 per cent of the overall national health budget, which is" extremely low and insufficient".
He said the allocation should be increased by 10 per cent of more, he said.
Wainaina said the national government's Mental Health Policy 2015-2030 provides a framework for interventions that address mental health problems and disorders.
Its full implementation, he said, would mean more awareness and access to care.
Dr Wainaina was joined by KMTC, Eldoret campus principal Benson Muli and the County Partners Liaison Officer, Dr Toromo Kochei.
They said the MoU will allow medical students from KMTC to be attached to the modern center of excellence for mental health care at the Gilgil Subcounty Hospital. It also offers teaching and training facilities to psychiatry students from public universities, as well as private hospitals and universities.
Wainana said the annual Unicef report on the 'State of the World's Children 2021' focuses on children's mental health.
It reports that more than one in seven adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years is estimated to live with a diagnosed mental disorder globally, the chief officer added.
The report also says at least 46,000 adolescents die from suicide each year. Suicide is among the top five causes of death in the age group.
“What is required is good investment in mental healthcare and a commitment to address the challenge, which is increasingly afflicting children and young people,” Dr Wainaina said.
He said one in every 10 Kenyans suffers from common mental health conditions, with depression and anxiety being the most prevalent . He put the cost of treating mental illness at Sh50,000 to Sh100,000, plus doctors consultation fees of Sh10,000.
“The cost of accessing treatment in private hospitals is very high has Sh3,000 to Sh5,000 has to be paid for every visit by a psychiatrist.
Dr Wainaina said it's necessary to bring the cost down so many people can get proper treatment. Kenyans, who cannot afford to seek treatment, continue to suffer from the effects of mental illness.
“The county administration is committed to ensuring proper mental health care is not the preserve for the rich in society,” the chief officer said.
The World Health Organization says half of all mental illness begins by the age of 14 but most cases go undetected and untreated.
In last year's county budget, the Gilgil subounty hospital's mental health care facility received Sh40 million for upgrade of facilities and procurement.
The Cabinet had approved a proposal to upgrade Gilgil Hospital to be a satellite of Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital.
The move by the Cabinet paved the way for the hospital to secure grants from the national Treasury towards financing its operations and future expansion projects.
The facility, touted as the first of its kind by a county in Kenya, also conducts screening and diagnosis for mental illness and will offer psychiatry and counselling services to patients.
It is also the second full-fledged psychiatric and mental health care facility in the country after Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital.
"We are gradually doing away with admission of mental health patients at the Nakuru Level 5 Hospital as the Centre of Excellence for mental health patients will take care of such cases,” Dr Wainaina said
Residents within Rift Valley counties of Nakuru, Bomet, Kericho, Samburu, Baringo, Nyandarua, and Laikipia, will access special rates for mental health treatment and psychiatric services. Other Kenyans will pay a subsidised charge.
Mathari, Kenya’s best known public mental health facility, requires a down payment of Sh10, 00 before admission, but one can get express admission with an NHIF card.
The mental section at Gilgil Hospital has been operating since 1965 and caters for 87 men and women patients. Some patients have been abandoned by their families and were transferred to the facility from Mathari.
(Edited by V. Graham)