Twenty mental health professionals from the ministries of health of Bahamas, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago met in Port of Spain, November 14-16, 2017, to attend the advanced course on "Innovation and implementation of mental health policies and care delivery," taught by Dr. Benedetto Saraceno, former WHO Director of Mental Health and Substance Use. Dr. Bernadette Theodore-Gandi, PAHO/WHO Country Representative in Trinidad and Tobago, and Ms. Ashvini Nath, Manager of the Mental Health Unit at Trinidad and Tobago's Ministry of Health participated in the opening ceremony.
The content of this course focused on mental health services reorganization and delivery; it provided rich information and innovative ideas for achieving decentralized mental health services, reducing the role of psychiatric hospitals and simultaneously increasing mental health resources in the community. The goal pursued was to address some relevant topics in the area of service organization and care delivery by providing updated information based on evidence, rational and concrete strategies to overcome barriers that prevent high quality care delivery, and concrete examples from low and middle income countries.
As said, the course was facilitated by Dr. Benedetto Saraceno, in collaboration with Dr. Claudina Cayetano, PAHO/WHO Regional Advisor on Mental Health; also in attendance were Dr. Edwin Bolastig, Advisor on Health Systems and Services at PAHO/WHO in Trinidad and Tobago, and Dr. Michelle Harris, Advisor on Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health at PAHO/WHO Jamaica.
