Overcrowded Ghana hospital forces out 600 “cured” inmates
An overcrowded Ghana hospital for mental health patients will release 600 "cured" patients this week, foreign media reported. It’s said that some have remained despite being discharged decades ago.
“Six hundred cured inmates will be sent home by force because we do not have the resources to take care of them,” said Akwasi Osei, the chief psychiatrist at Accra Psychiatric Hospital, the country’s largest.
“They are well and hearty and can now live with their families.” He said the “ejection” would start on Wednesday, with an initial 30 patients expected to leave. Hundreds of others would be expelled over the course of about six months.
“Some of the cured patients have been discharged from the hospital since 1983, but they are still here because their families refused to come for them,” Osei said.