Minister for Health and Medical Services Rosy Akbar believes that there will be no solution to reducing the number of mentally challenged people on our streets if their families do not care for them.
Fijivillage today raised the question on what can be done in relation to the number of mentally challenged people on our streets.
Akbar highlighted that in most cases the patients need medication and need to be sent back home.
However most of the family members fail to take responsibility of these mentally challenged persons which results in the person ending up on the streets.
She says that with her previous encounters as the Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, getting the family members to follow through was a challenge.
Akbar says that after identifying the family members and counseling them on how to care for the mentally challenged persons the end result would always be that the person ends up on the streets again.
She says that St Giles Hospital is the sole institution that provides care for the mentally challenged people and it was not possible for them to keep those patients for prolonged periods.
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