Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Monday announced that mental health would be adequately catered for in government's plans to upgrade all National, Regional and District Health facilities. He said apart from the Accra Psychiatric, Pantang and Ankaful Hospitals where mental health was given special attention, the regional and district level health facilities considered them as normal ailments as they lacked capacity to adequately cater for them. Vice President Mahama announced this when a group of Ghanaians who recently graduated from the University of Yale in the United States of America in mental health called on him at the Castle, Osu. The members were there to inform him of their plan of action to help reduce the incidence of mental cases in the country. The Vice President said government would do everything possible to encourage more health personnel to specialize in the area to be able to cope up with the rising figures in mental sickness on annual basis. "We need to disabuse the minds of people and let them believe that mental patients are not outcasts, but could be rehabilitated to become useful citizens in the country," he added. Dr Frank Nyanotor, Director, Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation of Ghana Health Service, who led the delegation said they were working hard to ensure the smooth passage of the mental health bill. He said they were also forming partnership and networks with other foreign organizations to increase access to mental health facilities throughout the country. Other members of the delegation were Dr Akwasi Osei, Chief Psychiatrist of Ghana, Dr Angela Ofori-Atta, Professor in Clinical Psychology, University of Ghana Medical School, Mr Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah, Head of Policy Analysis Unit, Ministry of Health and Mr Joseph Akati Saaka, Member of Parliament for Bole/Bamboi. Source: GNA