Students of the Kingston School of Nursing demonstrate to visitors at the Bellevue Hospital, Kingston, on Tuesday how to test for breast cancer, the proper way to put on a condom, and how the parts of the body function, during the hospital's open day. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
THE GOVERNMENT is hoping to sensitise the public to issues related to mental health, through a public education programme to be established with help from the National Health Fund (NHF).
"We need to change the perceptions of mental illness and cultivate and embrace a new awareness of mental health," Health Minister Horace Dalley said in a prepared speech Tuesday, delivered by Dr. Michelle Harris, regional technical director for the South East Regional Health Authority.
The programme, scheduled to commence in August, will highlight the various mental health conditions and the current treatment options.
"In February, Cabinet approved the plan for mental health reform, which will again change the course of history for Bellevue," she said at the launch of the 145th anniversary celebrations of the Bellevue Hospital in Kingston.
It was also highlighted that the plan will be based on a "community concept", which will see the de-institutionalisation of mental health services. "The services of Bellevue will gradually be reduced as new facilities are established to provide the full range of mental health service to each region," she added.
PROJECT FOR HOMELESS
Dr. Harris said the institution was currently working along with the Pan American Health Organisation to develop a project for homeless mentally-ill persons.
At Tuesday's ceremony, the musical heritage of the institution came to the fore when the 'Paradise Seniors' and 'Rainbow Singers' welcomed visitors in song. The members of the choir, residents and staff of the institution, dressed in bright green, pink, red and yellow, danced and sang Bellevue Time to the rhythm of a Jamaican folk song.
Students of the St. Theresa Preparatory School also entertained the audience with an exciting maypole dance, while displaying the many colours of Jamaica.
