Browsing by Author "Alonso-Betancourt, Orlando"

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    Lessons from the past : historical perspectives of mental health in the Eastern Cape
    (AOSIS Publishing, 2014-07-30) Sukeri, Kiran; Alonso-Betancourt, Orlando; Emsley, Robin
    The development of mental health services in the Eastern Cape Province is inextricably entwined in South Africa’s colonial history and the racist policy of apartheid. Prior to the development of mental hospitals, mental health services were provided through a network of public and mission hospitals. This paper explores the development of early hospital and mental health services in the Eastern Cape from the time of the Cape Colony to the dissolution of apartheid in 1994, and highlights the influence of colonialism, race and legislation in the development of mental health services in this province. The objective is to provide a background of mental health services in order to identify the historical factors that have had an impact on the current shortcomings in the provision of public sector mental health services in the province. This information will assist in the future planning and development of a new service for the province without the stigma of the past. This research indicates that one lesson from the past should be the equitable distribution of resources for the provision of care for all that inhabit this province, as enshrined in South Africa’s constitution.
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    Staff and bed distribution in public sector mental health services in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
    (AOSIS Publishing, 2014-11) Sukeri, Kiran; Alonso-Betancourt, Orlando; Emsley, Robin A.
    Background. The Eastern Cape Province of South Africa is a resource-limited province with a fragmented mental health service. Objective. To determine the current context of public sector mental health services in terms of staff and bed distribution, and how this corresponds to the population distribution in the province. Method. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, an audit questionnaire was submitted to all public sector mental health facilities. Norms and indicators were calculated at provincial and district level. This article investigates staff and bed distribution only. Results. Results demonstrated that within the province, only three of its seven districts have acute beds above the national baseline norm requirement of 13/100 000. The private mental health sector provides approximately double the number of medium- to long-stay beds available in the public sector. Only two regions have staff/population ratios above the baseline norm of 20/100 000. However, there are significant differences in this ratio among specific staff categories. There is an inequitable distribution of resources between the eastern and western regions of the province. When compared with the western regions, the eastern regions have poorer access to mental health facilities, human resources and non-governmental organisations. Conclusion. Owing to the inequitable distribution of resources, the provincial authorities urgently need to develop an equitable model of service delivery. The province has to address the absence of a reliable mental health information system.