By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH Minister Dr Michael Darville has discussed plans for the Mental Health Act 2022 and laying the groundwork for catastrophic care in the Davis administration’s latest budget over the weekend.

During a press tour of family island health clinics, Minster Darville told the media of his ongoing efforts on the proposed Mental Health Act.

This bill comes after the closing of a Sandilands ward last year and the recent rise in homelessness in the nation’s capital.

In his comments to the press discussing the Mental Health Act, Dr Darville said he is pleased with how the bill is turning out and that it seeks to help not only those dealing with the homeless dealing with mental health issues, but also those dealing with PTSD from Covid and previous hurricanes.

“We are so pleased with this bill,” he said. “This bill I think leads the way in the Caribbean. We are serious about addressing the mental health issues and we want to take full control of the issues that we see constantly popping up in the communities. We have issues dealing with post traumatic stress disorders associated with COVID, Hurricane Dorian, Hurricane Matthew and the list goes on and on. We have mechanisms in place to deal with that.

“We have tools and strategies to help individuals who are homeless, who have mental illness. In the bill we speak about protecting those who have mental illness to ensure that their lives and their ability to earn an income is protected. And we are about to go into public consultation in the community now to see exactly if there is any additional things we need to put in the bill. I believe it’s an excellent piece of legislation and many worked hard to get it where it is. We’ll be pleased that it was passed in the House of Assembly and is enacted where we can definitely do a better job in taking care of those who cannot take care of themselves.”

When asked about catastrophic care, the minister said his government is currently laying the groundwork for it with the introduction of selective catastrophic care.

He further explained that they have set aside money in this current budget for selective catastrophic care, which he hopes will lay the foundation for many Bahamians receiving the care they need.

“In our last term in office we launched universal primary health care. That is going extremely well. We are putting some more resources into that to ensure that we have equity in the system and primary healthcare is a focus to prevent further population issues that result in tertiary healthcare. We have put in this particular budget selective catastrophic care, which is the beginning of what is to come and that is catastrophic healthcare. So, this selective catastrophic care will now begin to treat many patients who have been on the waiting line. Some of our orthopaedic cases, some of those with neurology, OBGYN, mothers and families who have been waiting for these essential services in order for them to improve their quality of life.

“We are planning that now and we intend to execute it in a greater fashion. There is $10m in the budget that deals specifically with that. And then, of course, the need for catastrophic care as it relates to where we are going to go with health and wellness. We have funding available for that and we want to keep individuals out of hospital and we want them to live healthier and better quality of lives.”