About half of the patients receiving treatment at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Kaduna, are cases linked to substance abuse, the hospital’s Medical Director, Dr Aishatu Armaya’u, has disclosed.
Armaya’u made the disclosure Wednesday at a media engagement and the launch of the hospital’s digital innovation initiatives in Kaduna.
She said the increasing number of patients with substance-related mental health problems had put pressure on the hospital’s facilities, particularly its wards.
According to her, acute substance abuse patients were previously kept alongside other mental health patients, a situation she said created serious challenges because some of the patients became aggressive while experiencing cravings for drugs. She said some patients also attempted to escape from the hospital by breaking ceilings and walls, prompting the management to redesign one of its wards into a specialised toxicology unit.
‘When you mix them up, there’s a problem. Patients that have just substance abuse and come in the acute stage are usually craving for the drug and they can be very aggressive,’ she said.
Armaya’u said the hospital subsequently converted a renovated ward into a toxicology unit, which she described as the first of its kind in a psychiatric hospital.
She explained that the unit was specifically designed to accommodate patients with acute substance abuse cases, where they are treated for a period before being assessed for rehabilitation.
‘Usually, we keep them there for a maximum of one month. After which they are off the medication for the drugs for those four weeks, then their mind is now back and we ask them whether they want to go in for rehab,’ she said.
The medical director added that admission into the rehabilitation programme was voluntary, although the Mental Health Act 2021 allowed for involuntary admission where a patient posed a danger to themselves, others or public health.
She said the hospital currently had a 42-bed drug abuse treatment, education and rehabilitation (DATER) ward and a 30-bed toxicology ward, but still had patients in their hundreds due to inadequate space.
Armaya’u said the hospital had strengthened its addiction treatment services by engaging addiction specialists, doctors, nurses, psychologists and social workers to provide a therapeutic community for patients.
She also disclosed that the hospital had expanded mental health services to communities through collaboration with the Kaduna State Government.
According to her, 23 centres of excellence were trained to provide mental health services, with 1,075 patients attended to within one month of commencing implementation.
She said 75 per cent of the patients were female, with epilepsy, depression and perinatal psychosis among the major conditions recorded, alongside substance abuse cases.
Armaya’u said taking mental health services to primary healthcare facilities would help reduce pressure on the psychiatric hospital while improving awareness, prevention and early treatment.
She said the hospital was also working with the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board, Kaduna State Contributory Health Management Agency and Kaduna State Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Agency to expand services.
The medical director further said the hospital had introduced a fully digital electronic health record system and moved to a cashless payment system as part of reforms aimed at improving service delivery.
She said the hospital’s workforce had also increased from about 300 staff in 2022 to more than 960 following what she described as ‘intentional recruitment’ based on identified needs.