The psychiatric hospital in Barbados is located in Black Rock, St. Michael and is called Black Rock Psychiatric Hospital. The site was an old plantation house that was purchased by the Ministry of Health in 1891 and admitted it's first patients in 1893.
It has 640 beds, of which the average number of patients is around 530 at any one time, this increases over the Christmas and Crop Over periods. They provide health care services for all mental illnesses and social illnesses such as those that result from substance abuse.
On an average month they treat around 45 out patients, who attend the hospital for counselling and therapy sessions. The hospital provides 24 hour care, 7 days a week with nursing care available for both in and out patients.
These nurses also run a Child Guidance Clinic to help children suffering with a variety of mental disorders. There is also an Occupational Therapy Unit, again run by nurses to help patients with their concentration and cognitive skills by building furniture.
They offer Community Services through a half way house in St. Peter, which helps patients move back in to the community. This combined with the District Nursing Service allows the psychiatric service to keep an eye on patients and ensure they are settling back in to the community and to monitor their behavior.
In order to help the public understand mental and physical illness they also operate a Community Outreach Programme, which shows some of the causes of mental illness, which gives people a better understanding and helps them appreciate that mental illness is an illness like any other physical illness.
Under the remit of the Ministry of Health, is the provision of Social Services, which acts to prevent crises within the family and places children who are considered at risk in their home environment.
They also offer Psychology Services for Women; as yet there is no facility for males.
The Forensic Unit is also located at the Black Rock facility, along with an Electrocephalography machine, which is the only one of its kind in Barbados. This machine is able to monitor brain activity and gives more in depth exploration than a CAT scan.
For further information on the work of Black Rock Psychiatric Hospital you can call the main switchboard at (246) 425-8680 or (246) 425-8688.
> The Out Patient Clinic can be reached at (246) 425-6362.
> The Social Work department can be reached at (246) 425-7192.
> The Occupational Therapy Unit can be reached on (246) 425-7209.
> The Psychology Department can be reached on (246) 425-7188. |
