IN THIS YEAR 2015, it was shocking and sad to see the state of a section of the Psychiatric Hospital when earlier this week revealing pictures showed patients lying on mattresses on concrete floors, rotting benches and chairs, rusty sinks and stoves.
It was a sickening sight to see such conditions at a health institution that has as its primary objective to help nurse people with mental disorders back to a healthy state of mind.
The disturbing pictures were shared via email with the NATION under a caption Help Mental Hospital. The conditions revealed were reportedly in one section of the hospital.
Still, there is no doubt that the Psychiatric Hospital as a whole is in need of urgent help.
Today, why should any operational portion of this health facility be in such poor state?
Is there any wonder why the scourge and discrimination continues in our society when it comes to mental illness?
How can this health concern, which still carries a societal scorn, be properly addressed and not be shunned when the hospital that should be a temporary home for those suffering with such illnesses is in such a deplorable state?
In our society today there are many people battling mental disorders who need a healthy and helpful retreat to help provide the balance that’s criticalto functioning in a more meaningful and productive way.
The Psychiatric Hospital cannot play this role with such facilities. Officials need to move with haste and clean it up if it is to meet the objectives and goals it is intended to serve.
The reality is that no longer are patients left there to languish behind closed doors, banished from society.
The current state of the hospital would have been “hush hush” some years ago and merely whispered among the few who ventured beyond the gates.
The pictures published this week enlightened the public on the conditions and possibly would never have seen the light of day before.
Thankfully, technology has afforded us this opportunity and this revelation.
It was noteworthy that hospital director David Leacock did not hide behind bureaucracy and spoke on the issue confirming the photos were an accurate reflection of a section of the hospital that they were about to discontinue using.
We urge the director to go further and not just remove that unit from the clinical roster by October 1.
We challenge him and the authorities to do so now as this section is clearly no longer fit for helping patients get back on the road to a healthy state of mind.
Shut it down now!