UEW Lecturer to Serve on Mental Health Authority Committee
A Licensed Counselling Psychologist and Lecturer at the Department of Counselling Psychology, University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Dr. Nyuiemedi Agordzo Edoh-Torgah, has been appointed to serve as the State Agency Representative on the Western Regional Visiting Committee of the Mental Health Authority (MHA).
The appointment was in accordance with Sections 34 and 35 of the Mental Health Act, 2012 (Act 846). Members of the committee are mandated to visit mental health facilities, prayer camps, and healing centres, for regular inspections on the treatment of people with mental health conditions seeking help there.
The Visiting Committee has the authority to collaborate with the relevant agencies to protect the rights of people with mental disorders in the community; conduct inspections within its jurisdiction at least once a year, with or without prior notice; receive and investigate complaints preferred by or against an officer, staff, or patient of a mental health facility; and interview a patient without the presence of a facility officer.
Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony at the Ange Hill Hotel in Accra, the immediate past Chief Executive Officer of MHA, Prof. Akwasi Osei, charged the appointees to bring out their best to put smiles on the faces of persons whose rights would otherwise have continued to be violated.
Prof. Osei appealed to the government and the general public to provide the necessary support for the important work of the Committee.
The chairperson for the occasion, Madam Estelle Appiah, urged all appointed members to discharge their duties fairly and without fear or favour to help promote the mental health of all Ghanaians.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Hon. Mahama Asei Seini, delivering the keynote address on behalf of the sector minister, assured members of the Ministry’s readiness to support the Review Tribunal and the Visiting Committee in promoting mental health practices in Ghana.