Rockview Hospital

Mental health services in Belize were traditionally concentrated on the admission of patients with mental disorders to an asylum. In June of 1979 the Government decided to relocate the asylum just about 22 miles away from the city in a central and institutionalized facility. With a five-building complex, including one male and one female acute/chronic admission wards, the Rockview Hospital stills functions with some 55 beds as the only psychiatric hospital in Belize. But mental health reform is in full force in the Caribbean country. This is, for instance, what mental health officials from the Ministry of Health say regarding Rockview in the context of the ongoing reform in mental health:
"The Rockview Hospital functions as a stand-alone custodial care institution. Its current physical plant and functional program promotes and perpetuates the stigmatization and discrimination of the mentally ill. The physical plan is in dire need of repair and the service has inadequate mix of mental health professionals, and material resources to meet basic care needs to ensure patient dignity, safety and privacy."