ASCA MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS

Mental Health is as an important part of disease management as that of physical health. Over the last few months, we have been meeting with Haematologists across the county to understand whether mental health management is included in the patient’s care plans. What we have found out is that different treating hematologists manage this aspect differently.  The agreement across the board is that mental health is an important issue, and doctors will ensure that they continue bringing these discussions routinely.

We also identified that there is a lack of participation from the patients’ point of view. As an organisation, we will ensure that we continue having these discussions with our members to point out that it is okay not to be okay and that there is help available if you are feeling low. Hence we have developed several brochures to raise awareness about dealing with mental health and identifying the signs of when to seek help. We have also identified those signs and symptoms and what support can be offered from the healthcare system,  clinicians, and from us as an organisation.

We have designed a brochure to explain in detail what Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is, SCD in schools, help for parents with children living with SCD, kids’ understanding of SCD and many more. The brochure on SCD in Sickle Cell Disease can be found above. These are in the process of being translated into 8 different languages. Thank you to all the doctors who took the time to meet with us. We are still organising more meeting around the country to get feedback from other clinicians.