Bellevue residents reveal Christmas wishes
Published:Thursday | December 23, 2021 | 12:13 AMChristopher Serju/Senior Gleaner Writer
After delivering the keynote address at the annual patients’ banquet at the Bellevue Hospital in Kingston, one of the patients asked Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton whether there was any law to mandate that his relatives take him back home once he is receiving treatment.
The young man, dressed in a long-sleeve shirt and necktie, pitched the question after Tufton engaged them in conversation, asking for their Christmas wishes.
“You would love that, of course?” the minister asked, and when the young man responded in the affirmative, he added: “We have too many people who have abandoned their loved ones because of the stigma, and that’s why we have to mainstream the topic and discussion that mental health is not a curse and it is more common than you think.”
The question placed the contentious issue of social patients – those who have been abandoned by relatives at health facilities across the island although they have been discharged or are fit to go home – back into the spotlight. The ministry has indicated that it will be pursuing court action against these families come next year.
Bellevue, a mental-health hospital, with more than 350 social patients, heads the list of health facilities most affected.
Another resident asked Tufton yesterday whether they could be allowed to “use up more social media”.
“Are you on social media?” the minister asked.
“No. Mi want go pon the Internet,” the reply came quickly.
The next person made a direct appeal.
“I would like you do something for the residents that they can have money and little room for themselves,” the patient said.
Tufton responded that he would be pushing the occupational therapy component of their treatment, which would include their participation in art and craft.
“One of the big dreams of mainstreaming mental health is so that people understand that you can still live with mental-health challenges and still live a normal life because nuff people out there (in the society) live a normal life and them have it, too. So you not an exception. I know nuff people with depression and them go to work every day,” the minister said.
The next resident was concise and forthright with his Christmas wish.
“I wish my dream come true that I would, like, be in the House of Parliament and help Mr Speaker, thank you,” he said.
Tufton commended him for wanting to follow in his footsteps, triggering a rousing round of applause.
The next resident, who admitted to being of the Catholic faith, asked that services at the chapel on the premises be resumed and also expressed a desire for further academic training.
“Well, that wish can be granted,” Tufton told him.
A middle-aged woman then expressed a desire to be allowed to go home at certain times of the year, and when she thought the minister might not have understood her, explained that “we want to be put on probation to go home and come. Nutten nuh wrong with that!”
Tufton agreed that nothing was wrong with her suggestion. After asking where she was from, and she replied, “Manchester”, he told her that that was his parish also.
“I would like to be a JDF soldier,” the next resident declared, referencing the Jamaica Defence Force.
Tufton asked to see his muscles, telling the resident that he needed to be strong and commended him for his ambition.
The exchange followed a session in which there were lively performances in poems, song, and a skit, with residents acting out a nativity scene as they entertained each other, health officials and caregivers, board members, staff, and other guests.
Nattily dressed and all wearing face masks, the residents – up to 90 per cent of whom have been vaccinated against COVID-19 – put on an entertaining concert, showing an understanding of the vagaries of the global pandemic.
Patrick Cokley, third-place awardee in the 2021 Mental Health Week Jingle Week Competition, reminded guests of the fact that COVID-19 affects the respiratory system before first-place winner Minerva Hylton performed her song to the tune of the popular folk song Evening Time, warning of the risks associated with the illness and the need to be vigilant to prevent its spread.
The residents were treated to care packages, which contained toiletries and slippers, before enjoying a hearty Christmas meal.