SHAR­LENE RAM­PER­SAD

The Min­istry of Health’s Men­tal Health Unit is work­ing on a Na­tion­al Men­tal Health In­for­ma­tion Sys­tem that can be used to mon­i­tor di­ag­no­sis, use of re­straints and in­vol­un­tary ad­mis­sions for men­tal health dis­or­ders across the coun­try.

The Unit’s di­rec­tor, Dr Hazel Oth­el­lo, re­vealed the de­vel­op­ment to­day dur­ing a Joint Se­lect Com­mit­tee on Hu­man Rights, Equal­i­ty and Di­ver­si­ty.

Dr Oth­el­lo was asked by com­mit­tee mem­ber Desmond Forde whether the Min­istry has pre­pared any such re­port, which was rec­om­mend­ed by the World Health Or­ga­ni­za­tion in a 2018 re­port on the men­tal health sys­tem in Trinidad and To­ba­go.

Dr Oth­el­lo could not give a time­line for the com­ple­tion of the sys­tem.