THE NATION

THE Bayelsa State Government has announced its plan to establish a psychiatric hospital to adequately take care of people with mental disabilities.

The move, according to the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Pabara Igwele, will help rid the streets of Yenagoa and its environs of mentally challenged people.

Igwele spoke yesterday during a meeting with members of the Standard and Ethics Committee of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Bayelsa State chapter.

He described as an eyesore the number of mentally sick persons roaming the streets, saying it was not befitting for a state like Bayelsa that regularly plays host to dignitaries and major events.

Igwele restated the state government’s commitment to eliminate quackery from the nursing profession in the state, and applauded his guests for imbibing the spirit of professionalism in the discharge of their duties.

While sharing instances of Bayelsans who have died as a result of quackery, the commissioner urged members of the committee to go around health facilities for routine checks to confirm the professionalism of nurses.

In her remarks, the Director of Nursing Services in the ministry, Mrs. Cynthia Boufini, said Bayelsa would soon commence ‘The Year of the Nurse 2020’ which would play a pivotal role in improving nursing services in the state.

She appealed for the upgrade of the State School of Nursing into a College of Nursing to better serve the needs of scholars in the state.

The representative of psychiatric nurses in the state, Mrs. Efuwa Agbana, expressed her delight that the government had already begun working on establishing a psychiatric hospital.

She lauded government’s effort at giving attention to the need of nurses in the state and called for more attention to be paid to people who sell illicit drugs in the state which is also responsible for increasing crime rates.