Doctor wants government housing for mentally ill

Senior medical officer at Bellevue, Dr Rodger Roberts, has proposed that the government provide housing facilities for persons struggling with mental challenges.

"The infirmaries managed by the local government provide housing for people who are physically ill. What about similar facilities for mental disorder patients?" questioned Roberts, a neuropsychiatrist.

He spoke with THE STAR following the unveiling of a renovated family room at the east Kingston-based hospital on Monday.

Despite Bellevue Hospital housing more than 500 patients at any given time, numerous persons believed to be mentally ill are often seen on streets across the country, leading to questions about whether the system is failing them.

Roberts warns that the issue is far more complicated than simply rounding them up and admitting them into a facility.

"Treating mentally disordered patients who are homeless usually needs a multi-stakeholder approach, and that's a problem," Roberts told THE STAR. "In other jurisdictions, you've got healthcare, social services, and local government working together to provide housing accommodation so that people can be treated and supported in the community."

Jamaica, however, lacks the infrastructure to properly support its mentally ill homeless population. Roberts pointed out that while there are halfway houses and drop-in centres, they are merely a drop in the bucket compared to what's truly needed.

"Some people may need to have a flat or a studio to stay. Because we don't have that support on a wide scale, it poses a challenge in treating those patients on the street," he revealed.

Roberts also disclosed that Jamaica's community mental health services are severely lacking, leading to preventable cases spiralling out of control and ending in hospitalisation.

"We need to optimise community mental services so we can reach people in their community and treat them where they are, preventing them from becoming serious cases that require hospitalisation and institutionalisation," he said. "We don't like people to just be locked up here."

Yet, some of those on the streets refuse help--a controversial issue that makes the problem even more challenging.

"There are people who are on the street because they want to live there," Roberts reasoned. "When I worked in Clarendon, I remember some clients who had homes but chose to go back to the street because they felt more comfortable there."

This complicates matters for authorities, as forcibly removing them is not always legally or ethically justifiable.

"A person who abuses substances and finds it easier to beg on the street to buy substances is not necessarily in an abnormal mental state where they can't make their own decision," he explained.

"Should they be forcibly removed and put into an institution? It raises a lot of human rights issues and ethical questions."

Roberts emphasised that only a multi-agency approach can properly tackle this growing crisis.

"Solving that problem will never be a Bellevue issue by itself," he declared. "It requires multiple stakeholders--social services, healthcare, local government."