In a delightful session with the CEO, Adicare Rehabilitation Home, Veronica Ezeh, she offered insight into her world of advocacy, treatment, social support and rehabilitation of the mentally ill.
Yinka Olatunbosun reports
A traumatic experience gripped Veronica Ezeh in 2018. The psychiatric nurse and Chief Matron at the Federal Neuro- psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, had a six-year old son, Adika who was at the terminal stage of cancer. The young boy had been a source of joy, accompanying her to care for streets-bound psychiatric patients. Soon, the cancer bit harder and the same hospital that had managed his health for two years rejected him.
Fortunately, the former Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode took interest in the case and Adika was flown to India for treatment. Thirty minutes before his departure, he requested that his birthday should be celebrated in a big way.
On his return flight to Nigeria, just about three and a half hours before landing, Adika died due to organ failure.
Adicare Foundation was founded on the memory of Adika by his mother who hails from Imo State. At a brief encounter with Ezeh, she revealed how she began her journey as a psychiatry nurse.
“As a child, I had always seen people stoning the mentally ill patients. That broke my heart. Along the line, I decided that I wanted to be a nurse. That also motivated me to see what I could do to help them. After studying nursing, I had to specialise so I chose psychiatry because I have always wanted to help the mentally ill,’’ she recounted.
At the completion of her midwifery in Minna, she proceeded to a one-year training at The Neuro-Psychiatry Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta and much later, obtained a Masters’ degree in Public Health at the College of Medicine, Ladoke Akintola University. She joined the famous psychiatry home in Yaba in 1999 where she met a philanthropist medical professional, Dr. Abraham.
“He used to pick patients from the streets to the psychiatry home,’’ she continued. “I was one of the nurses picked them for the domiciliary service to pick those patients from the streets. By the time I got to the junction that was our destination, we didn’t
see the patient. We went as far as Redeemed camp to find a psychiatry patient. At the end of the day, the hospital was patient enough to reunite the patient with the family,’’ she said.
She usually starts by giving to the street patients. From food to clothes, Ezeh had committed her personal funds into searching for willing patients and rehabilitating them. Even within their little commune around Lagos, some of them could recognise Ezeh whenever she passed by and sometimes would hug her. Ezeh said many of them long to be cared for and once, she had met some patients who asked for basic sanitary items such as toothbrush.
Eze maintained that psychiatry care has become more dignifying than before in Nigeria. Gone are the days when most patients look unkempt. Today, the hospital has recorded a good number of working-class patients who often come in quietly and perhaps, voluntarily.
“Many bankers and commissioners would come by. Everything has been transformed,’’ she observed.
For her, the idea of establishing Adicare Rehabilitation Home is to complement the efforts of the government in taking the mentally ill off the streets. Their continuous abandonment on the streets make them vulnerable to accidents and violent attacks including battery and rape.
“Adicare looks forward to a world where there would be no vagrant psychiatry patient on the street. We can’t do it alone. I remember how I had been able to pick up a patient from the street and I wanted to offer help but the hospitals were denying me help. I took the patient to the General Hospital at Ile Epo, they denied him access. I took him to Ikeja General Hospital but they referred me to Gbagada where they denied him access to treatment as well. I thought to myself that this patient is government property and I gradually left the patient and walked away. I put up a petition and at the end of the day, Lagos State took in the patient. It is very possible to take off all the mentally-ill from the streets,’’ she said.
Meanwhile, Adicare rehabilitation home comprises of advocacy, social support, medicine and rehabilitation while using the media to create
awareness about mental illness. The home which is under construction is domiciled in Zuberu Oje, Alagbado to bring her closer to the community. In her experience with community service, many mentally ill patients often use monetary gifts to buy illicit drugs.
Use of recreational drugs is one of the leading causes of mental illness in young people. This explains why she had pushed the campaign against illicit drugs to secondary schools.
“On February 26, 2020, we finished our programme in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Education to create awareness on the cause
and prevention of mental illness with focus on drug abuse. We picked age 13 to 19 that is secondary school age category and we went to educational districts in five local government councils including Amuwo Odofin, Ojo, Ajeromi-Ifelodun and Badagry and we covered this in a month.
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We were able to attend to 60 secondary schools. In every local government, we had a centre where a specific number of students would be attended to and we were able to educate them through talks and psycho drama. While in school, we were able to identify those who were already doing drugs. And some of them owned up by themselves. Some of them were influenced by friends or their family background. Some want to quit but they don’t have the right motivation. Some schools want us to return. Some of the schools agreed to form clubs on anti-drugs,’’ she added.
Adicare aims to provide affordable medicine meant for the destitute. Many of them are rejected by family members and stigmatised by the society.
“We have very expensive drugs here at the Neuropsychiatric hospital. Our drugs are very universal and you can get one injection for N80,000. They are not made in Nigeria. They are imported drugs. We have the universal best practices. Additionally, the psychiatric home provides suitable occupational therapy to equip the patients with skills that can make them financially independent.
“After treatment, some decide to marry. We do not advise two mentally ill patients to marry because in some cases, they can replicate themselves through child bearing,’’ she said.
Adicare Rehabilitation Home marked its first year anniversary on September 7, a date that coincides with late Adika’s birthday.
