Federal Neuropsychiatric hospital, Yaba Lagos, popularly called Yabaleft, is viewed as something of a mystery on account of the stigma attached to mental disorders of the occupants. However, Nigeria, despite the recession, needs to increase funding for the sanatorium, writes Anthonia Obokoh.
As you walk into the gate of Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital Yaba Lagos, the sight that greets you is one of calmness, an unnerving calmness that gets you curious. A beefy security officer whose practiced ease suggests a job with little drama, the somber, quiet ambiance, manicured flowers and people shuffling in and out of the facility seems to suggest everything is all right, but do not let that fool you, behind the walls, lies the mystery of a strange illness in victims that are bold enough to make the strange look ordinary.
Almost everyone is terrified of insane asylums because of the imagined paranormal activities occurring there. This feeds from the stigma attached to mental health patients. The young man I asked for directions on my way to the facility did a double take, as if to ensure I was sane, before pointing the way.
I walked around the compound with the intention of not asking questions. I just wanted to see things for myself but soon enough I attracted the attention of a young man who walked up to me and struck a conversation.
Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba came into existence on October 31, 1907 when the hospital was set up as an asylum under the British Colonial rule. The first batch of 48 inmates was admitted in a disused Nigeria Railway Building in Yaba.
Over the years, the hospital has morphed into a full blown Psychiatric hospital with improvement in infrastructure and real attention paid to mental health. It used to be a policy to lock up mental patients in padded cells and force-feed them on drugs such as Paraldehyde, mist Alba and others. But that has since changed. It is now a modern psychiatric hospital.
The hospital has about 500 beds, which operates fewer than two different centers with the annex in Oshodi, Lagos. The hospital is made up of six different wards which are Marinho-Ordia- Broffika (M.O.B) ward, Bertha Johnson (BJ) ward, F4/M4 ward, Tolani Asuni and Adeoye Lambo wards, F3/M3 ward and Adeoye Orekoya ward. An average of 20 new patients is registered per day. The Child Adolescent Psychiatric, Drug Rehabilitation Specialist Unit, Generic psychiatric, Emergency unit, are sub-specialist units under the centre and other notable departments which include administrative , psychology, laboratory, nursing, Pharmacy, social worker, occupational therapist, educational therapy, records, library, among other not so prominent units.
Agony of a patient
Abosede shobade (not real name) shared her experience. “I am a 42-year old divorced mother of two beautiful kids. I have been hospitalised twice due to depression; I lost my divorced husband in 2005.”
“While in the hospital, I was diagnosed of major depressive disorder with psychotic features, and personality disorder. My stay in the hospital was very short, and I did not really gain anything from it, because I thought nothing was wrong with me. The main problem I have is accepting the reality that I have a problem.”
“In February I started having this psychotic experiences again, and my relations had the feeling I could hurt my children, so I was checked into the hospital. My stay has been much longer than the first time. They have been giving me occupational therapy and I am learning to be myself again, so it is a new beginning for me,” she said with a grin.
Richard Adebayo, the consultant psychiatric and clinical psychologist, is the acting medical director in Federal neuropsychiatric hospital; Yaba says there are several common mental disorders, of which depression is the commonest reported in Nigeria and all over the world.
Schizophrenia is the major form of disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. People with schizophrenia may seem like they have lost touch with reality. There are other forms of mental disorders anxiety, panic attacks, phobia, sleep disorder, sex disorder, schizotypal personality disorder and other disorders.
“Depression is more common in women than men. The hallmark of mental disorder is core stress,” he said.
Visiting the occupational therapy section exposed me to the fact that mental illness care is not all about drugs. In this section the therapist treats, rehabilitates and exposes patients to different skills after they might have passed the psychotic phase.
The facility has been able to make provision for them to work with trained artisans who are professionals in shoe making, tailoring, barbing, hair dressing, and hat making. Their week is always occupied with different activities like psychotherapy, debate, art collage; role play in drama telling them of drug abuse and how it can affect their life, which are meant to keep the patients from getting bored and engaged.
Their daily activities are mostly guided by the nurses in the wards. Wake up time for patients is 6:00am and it starts with morning devotion and afterward they take their baths and then dress up for the day. Breakfast is at 7:30am and then medications come next.
After breakfast, patients go out for therapy and psychological review which is on Mondays. Lunch is served at 1:30pm. This lasts for 30 minutes. Siesta is observed by 2:00pm. Patients engage in social activities as part of occupational therapy, which include role-play and exercises to prevent boredom between 4:00pm to 6:00pm. Dinner is served at 7: 00pm and light out afterwards.
Ward rounds for psychiatric patients are on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The clinic operates four times a week.
Community outreach programmes are organised to reach out to people and sensitize them on mental health issues. They are taught that it can affect anybody and is not limited to certain set of people or class. The aim is to make people understand that the Yaba psychiatric hospital is just like any other place you go for psychological evaluation and that does not deter you from performing your regular activities.
The outreach is in three stages: enlightenment, early detection and identifying those who may have mental issues.
Challenges
But it is not all rosy at the Yaba psychiatric hospital. The facility is struggling to stay afloat due to increased operating costs and shrinking budget. The hospital has its overhead budget cut from N149 million in 2015 to N40 million in 2016, a 77% decrease.
“What we get monthly can barely pay for power,” said Richard Adebayo, chief medical director at Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital Yaba “About N3.2 million for public electricity and about N3.4million for diesel per month and we are running two different centres. The cost of feeding has increased from N5 million to N9 million per month.
Staff members are exposed to molestation and violation by patients yet they get an occupational hazard fee of only N5, 000 monthly. The unattractive working condition means that you have more Nigerians with expertise in mental care, working outside the country than working in the country.
People’s attitude towards victims of mental disorder, is another challenge. Cultural and religious beliefs about mental disorder cause discrimination from non-patients.
“Those of us that are practitioners, health workers, care givers; the society stigmatises and looks down on us, especially our patients. We should change our attitude. Patients that manifest dementia are labeled witches and wizards. In other parts of the world, people have done away with such practices and orientation, but we still hold on to them. Patients suffering from mental disorder are human beings. Reach out and help them,” Adebayo said.
My visit to the facility opened my eyes to the misconceptions most of us had about Yabaleft. The hospital is well-structured and staffed and operates like any other hospital in the country. Facilities like supermarket, salon, tailoring, shoe making, crèche, car wash, laundry, lawn tennis court, standard canteen, guesthouse, doctors’ quarters, senior staff residents are provided for inside “Yaba left” even better than the facilities available at “Yaba Right”.
More interesting is the fact that I met people of all professions in Yaba left, many of whom were just victims of stress and then I came to realise that anyone can be in Yaba left and there is nothing to be ashamed of. It is just like any other hospital, and even with far better facilities.
Anthonia Obokoh
