K.H.M.H. Frontline Workers Get Training on Detecting Mental Illness

This morning, public health officials engaged in the M.H. Gap at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. It is a training session aimed to create awareness among non-specialists, such as general practitioners, nurses and others who are frontline healthcare providers that may be the first to receive people who have mental health issues. Director of Public Health and Wellness, Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa says that this is the first-ever training at the K.H.M.H., but that it has been conducted in other regions.

Melissa Diaz-Musa

Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, Director, Public Health & Wellness

“The MH Gap has started out for Belize from about 2013, and we’ve done training continuously at our regions but now we’re trying to ensure that other areas as well – private sector, community health workers – everybody is involved in detecting mental illness early, even somebody presents to the hospital for any other reason. We need to put the importance of mental illness, we need to bring down stigma and biases when it comes to persons who have mental health issues and the pandemic itself has highlighted the mental health issues that we have, you know, globally. It’s important now for us to refocus and restrategize in the Ministry of Health and look at areas that we have forgotten and neglected and ensure that we put back the importance in that ensuring that we’re truly looking at prevention and wellness for our society.”