More than 10,000 officers from the Disciplined Service working in the Central Region will soon begin benefitting from a comprehensive mental wellness programme, aimed at addressing the rising mental health challenges within the security sector.
This follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Outspan teaching and referral hospital and the Kenya Disciplined Services, marking a significant step towards strengthening psycho-social support systems within the disciplined service.
The programme will benefit officers from the National Police Service (NPS), Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Prisons Services working in Nyeri, Murang’a, Kiambu, Kirinyaga and Nyandarua counties.
Speaking during the MoU signing, Director of the Outspan hospital and Outspan Global University, Dr. Godfrey Kiruhi said that the program has been launched in response to shifting global health trends.
He noted that the mental health disorders, which he termed as a silent pandemic, are increasingly becoming prevalent affecting nearly every family across the country either directly or indirectly.
“It is unfortunate that mental health disorders do not cause pain that would usually make us go to hospital but it makes us malfunction in whatever areas of our lives that we are involved in and on top of that it is the beginning of many other diseases such as stress,” said Dr. Kiruhi.
He noted that through the partnership, the medical facility will extend healthcare beyond the hospital setting adding that the hospital is adopting a holistic approach to healthcare, a move that will see them address the mental, physical and social well-being of the officers.
“We thought it is important to go beyond what we usually do in hospitals and start walking together with other people who have got the same mindset as we have so that we can be able to give solutions on how we can be able to tackle this pandemic,” he added.
The programme will focus on prevention, early detection, treatment and after care.
Among the key interventions that will be undertaken by the medical facility include training of peer counsellors within the Disciplined Services for free, to equip them with skills to help identify early signs of mental health issues.
Chaplains within the service will also receive training to provide counselling support, while a referral system is being set up to ensure officers requiring specialized care are connected to professional mental health services.
A January 2022 National Police Service report found that at least 12,000 out of the 110,000 officers had mental health problems including depression and high levels of severe occupational stress.
The report showed that 70 per cent of police officers felt overworked, 55.3 per cent were dissatisfied with the fairness of transfers, while 60 per cent of officers interviewed during the study said inadequate housing and their safety significantly contributed to their mental distress.
However, Central Regional Police Commander, Jasper Ombati said that the numbers could be higher noting that at least 50 per cent of officers are currently affected by some form of mental health challenge.
Ombati attributed the incidents to the nature of police work which he said exposes them to traumatic experiences that significantly affect their mental well-being.
“The situation in the disciplined services is wanting. The environment in which we work in is very complex. For instance, our traffic officers on the road are routinely exposed to tragic accidents where people lose their lives and we have officers handling cases of suicide, drowning and these are really mind boggling,” said Ombati.
While welcoming the partnership, Ombati described it as a timely and necessary intervention for the disciplined officers.
He said that the programme will improve their mental stability and decision making and ultimately enhance their service delivery to the public.
“We have come to learn that mental health issues have eaten into our service and it is high time that we took care of our mental health because we want our officers to be in a stable mind when they are serving the public. And because of the acute nature of this need we appreciate this partnership that we have developed with the Outspan hospital to cater for the needs of our officers,” said the regional police boss.
Speaking at the event, Joshua Nkananatha, the Central Regional Commissioner called for the initiative to be expanded to other government agencies and departments.
He said that like police officers, civil servants also deal with highly stressful situations that require resilience and proper coping mechanisms.
At the same time, Nkanatha encouraged the officers to support one another and to prioritize their well-being noting that mental health is a shared responsibility.
“Overcoming mental illness requires the collective effort of each and every one of us so when you realize that your friend is in trouble try to assist them.
Lastly, officers are trained to be resilient, but I urge you not to fight with your emotions when faced with a difficult task. Give it your best, but after you are through go and wind down,” he advised.
The effectiveness of the programme will be evaluated after six months of implementation and adjustments made based on the findings.
By Wangari Mwangi
