The Minister of Health and Social Services, Esperance Luvindao, has said provision will be made for persons with mental health conditions to be involuntarily admitted if an application is made by a social worker or family member.
She said this is important, as these individuals may pose a threat to themselves or to community members.
Responding to concerns raised by members of parliament during debate on the Mental Health Bill, the minister said people with mental health issues capable of making rational decisions would have the opportunity to seek voluntary mental health care.
Dr. Luvindao also announced that the Mental Health Bill will house patients according to their age groups, ensuring appropriate care and preventing exploitation or abuse.
The Bill states that mental healthcare practitioners would provide care to persons of the same sex; however, concerns were raised regarding those interested in the same sex.
“Protection against sexual abuse is covered under section 12, subsection three. Prohibition of exploitation or abuse, which states that every person, body or health facility providing mental health care to a patient must take steps to ensure that such patient is protected from exploitation or abuse, including physical, emotional, sexual, psychological and financial exploitation or any degrading treatment.”
In terms of preventive measures and health education for frontline workers, the minister said, “The Ministry of Health and Social Services has conducted a series of training for the City of Windhoek police, Namibian police and regional offices on basic mental health skills, mental health screening, psychological first aid and managing mental health emergencies, including handling aggressive patients and applying de-escalation techniques. To date, at least 53 of Windhoek’s police officers, 150 national police officers and 75 correctional officers have been trained. Is this enough? No. However, it is important to know that training has commenced in order to ensure that they are well-skilled to ensure that they can take care of inmates who may have such conditions.”
Dr. Luvindao further stated that the ministry is actively engaged in the introduction of e-health to transform the country’s health system and work towards universal health coverage to meet global standards.