Anecdotes of life at the Mental Health Centre

by Colin King

The public on the outside may wonder, what is it like to live at the Mental Health Centre (MHC)?

I reside there because it is a safe environment in terms of response to incidents of violence, threats etc. Everywhere I have lived in SVG – Arnos Vale, Villa, New Montrose, Fairbaine, I have been attacked, most times by plural antagonists. I have been discharged for two years and can leave at anytime. I can’t carry a gun, so I choose to live there, until I can permanently leave SVG.{{more}}

Fact is living at MHC poses a few problems. At other times, being with progressive patients who pass through and a few who live here, can be enlightening as to the horrific reception people living with mental illness receive in SVG on the outside, which engenders solidarity. My issue is certain members of staff, who should not be working at the Mental Health Centre, in that they psychologically abuse patients, and attempt to curtail whatever freedom or enjoyment that is their right. Sometimes though, there are lighter moments, and the mix of personalities, sometimes in conflict, can be educational indeed.

Take CB, for example. Nothing gets him down. CB is about 35 years old, though he presents as 16, and behaves like he is 12. CB lived first at an orphanage in Georgetown, and then was moved to the centre at Glen quite a few years ago. CB’s problem is a complicated retardation, but everyone likes him, though some of the patients do tease him and ridicule him. One night CB had enough of another patient ‘Dollar Man,’ who was talking loudly after lights out. ‘Dollar Man,’ is twice CB’s size, but CB rushed up to him and pushed him off his bed. A loud altercation ensued between the two, at the end of which ‘Dollar Man’ took a bucket of urine and doused CB! CB swore to get back at him, so that’s in the future. Otherwise CB is pleasant and a joy to be around because he is so happy. He is especially so whenever he gets a new pair of shoes or his favourite striped pants, which is a step toward his ambition to become a policeman.

Then there was the classic case of ‘David meets Goliath’, which occurred between two other patients. KQ is one of the more progressive patients. While at Glen, he was getting serious about his life, taking a community college course in Accounting which he has at CSEC level and being helpful, curtailing that lethal temper of his. The transformation was quite incredible, since KQ was quite the thug, the rebel à la James Deane in earlier stays. In fact, when he was released and retuned, I could see what living on the outside did to his ambitions; he was sated, quiet, moody and seemed on the verge of giving up.

XX, another patient is the exact opposite of KQ. He is a lifer at MHC who swears, accuses people of the very things he is himself guilty of, and yet has so many privileges because he panders to the staff, and plays on their sympathies. KQ, who is about 5 foot 8 inches tall, had enough of his attitude one time. By contrast XX is six foot two and muscular, with a face that looks more murderous than a Charles Dickens villainous character. KQ took him on in a dispute and became a flurry of punches and energy, until he had felled DL and had him on the ground begging. All the patients were laughing at him. “How come K beat you?” they asked. XX’s response?” “The sun was in my eyes,” he said. So funny!

Sometimes love blooms between patients. Nothing is stronger than the love between A, a female patient, and SF, another patient who is partially crippled. At Glen, before the move to Orange Hill, they were inseparable. Because the female ward is across the street at Orange Hill, they don’t see each other that often, but A comes at least once a week with some treat for her beloved.

I will also highlight three outstanding members of staff. Nurse Bella, a Filipino nurse, has a master’s degree in Nursing; has worked in Saudi Arabia and at a convent in the Phillipines. Bella’s work ethic is something some of the other nurses should aspire to. She was quick in action and saved the life of a patient who had a stroke in the lunchroom one time; she knows when to say no and when to accommodate patient requests. She has a good bedside manner and is professionally detached, when she needs to be.

Another outstanding worker is the honest affable and disciplinarian mixed with compassion, Michael Smart. Michael’s job is a two-edged sword. He has to be powerful when overseeing the dorms, e.g. at medication time, and he often has to settle disputes without stepping over the boundary of legal and illegal responses. Another attendant who has mastered that art is Roger Ross. He cares a little too much, but that is what is needed at MHC.

Well, signing out until the next in the series. Incidentally, by the time this publishes, there will be an extension on my Facebook page under GREGORY KING. Check it out if you like.