DESIGN OF A PSYCHIATRIC TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION CENTRE IN TAMALE

The introduction of Moral Treatment and invention of psychosis medication saw an evolution in the treatment of mentally ill patients as well as the design of psychiatric hospitals. The design of psychiatric hospitals currently focuses on the recovery of patients as well as spaces to enhance patients’ therapeutic activities which will also prepare them for their communities. The economic and social skills offered by both therapeutic activities and environment in psychiatric hospitals help reintegrate patients properly into their societies.

Psychiatry in Ghana like any other African country has not received its needed attention. Almost all the psychiatric hospitals and facilities in Ghana are in deplorable states. The environments in the psychiatric hospitals are unsafe and outmoded to facilitate patients and staffs’ activities. This makes it difficult for patients’ to get the needed attention they need for their recovery and rehabilitation.

One major disadvantage that the improper psychiatric environment poses to patients in Ghana is that they do not receive the proper social and economic skills they need for their reintegration aside the recovery aspect. This has made the reintegration of discharged psychiatric patients very problematic. In order to discard this problem, the psychiatric hospital environment should be therapeutic to encourage patients and staff’s activities.

This thesis looks at proper therapeutic environment and activities for mentally ill patients in Ghana.  The results of this research informed the design of a Psychiatric Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre in Tamale. Therapeutic activities for psychiatric patients were looked at and identified in this study. The identification of the therapeutic activities helped in recommending safe and protected spaces and environment for effective functioning of both patients and staff.

One hundred and fifty (150) questionnaires were distributed to nurses and occupational therapy (OT) department workers in Pantang Psychiatric Hospital to find out appropriate therapeutic activities and environments for severe mentally ill patients in Ghana.  The therapeutic activities and environmental qualities for patients’ room and wards have been grouped in descending order of appropriateness.

Cues were taken from the research to propose a Psychiatric Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre in Tamale. The proposed psychiatric facility has been discussed in this thesis. The proposed design with some recommendations will help in the design of other district and regional psychiatric facilities and also be the benchmarks for the renovation and rehabilitation of existing psychiatric hospitals in Ghana.

Keywords

Mental Health, Mental Illness Treatment, Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Therapeutic Environment, Therapeutic Activities