RMU launching psychiatric, mental health nursing programme

Rawalpindi : Rawalpindi Medical University (RMU) in collaboration with WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Research and Training is launching a programme of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing in Pakistan, a country that has only 300 qualified psychiatric nurses to serve in public sector healthcare facilities.

This programme aims for an intensive teaching and training course to impart knowledge and skills designed to enable participants to assess the symptoms and signs of priority mental disorders and develop an integrated nursing care plan based on scientific evidence with the participation of the person/patient, family and caregivers as well as to enhance competencies in administration of psychotropic medications and assistance in rehabilitation, said Co-Chairman, Board of Advanced Studies & Research at RMU and Director at WHO Collaborating Centre Professor Fareed Aslam Minhas while talking to ‘The News’ on Wednesday.

He added that for the programme to be launched, colleagues from Agha Khan University are visiting RMU for needs assessment and they will subsequently adapt the well developed WHO module for the course being designed.

It is important that Pakistan is among one of the countries of Eastern Mediterranean Region facing complex progressive mental health issues as well as protracted emergencies impacting mental health of individuals with the situation adversely affecting the social, economic and health institutions and systems.

Professor Minhas said according to World Health Organisation report, nearly 450 million people suffer from mental illnesses worldwide and depression ranks fourth in the ten leading health problems worldwide. And one million people commit suicide every year. There are currently only 600 psychiatrists in Pakistan in both the public and private sectors, only 700 clinical psychologists are available in the country and there are only 300 qualified psychiatric nurses, he said.

He added that there is no provision for training of psychiatric social workers at the university departments. One of the priorities for effective mental health provision and emergency preparedness and response is thus to provide mental health and psychosocial support and to fill the gaps consistently identified in affected countries in particular being the lack of trained manpower at specialist as well as non-specialist levels, said Professor Minhas.

He added the short (three weeks) programme of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing will be targeting the nurse tutors from the nursing colleges in the emergency countries including Pakistan as well as nurses working in the mental health services and facilities to enhance their skills in providing care for psychiatric patients.