Mental health services in the Solomon Islands

The Solomon Islands comprise an archipelago of nearly 1,000 islands and coral atolls and have an estimated population of 549,574 people. Formal mental health services date back to 1950 when an asylum was established. Since then the process of mental health service development has been largely one of incremental change, with a major boost to community services in the last two decades. During the 1990s a mental health outpatient clinic was established in Honiara, together with attempts to recruit nursing staff as psychiatric coordinators in the provinces. In 1996, the Ministry commenced sending registered nurses for psychiatric training in Papua New Guinea. By 2010, there were 13 psychiatric nurses and one psychiatrist, with a second psychiatrist in training. A National Mental Health Policy was drafted in 2009 but is yet to be endorsed by Cabinet. A significant portion of the population still turns to traditional healers or church leaders for purposes of healing, seeking help from Western medicine only after all other alternatives in the community have been exhausted. There is still a long way to go before mental health services are available, affordable and accessible to the whole population, including people living in geographically remote areas. Realization of this vision requires increased resourcing for mental health services; improved communication and collaboration between the centrally-based, national mental health services and the provincial health services; and closer, ongoing relationships between all stakeholders and partners, both locally and internationally.