Local mental health programme gets support from the Republic of China on Taiwan

Basseterre, St. Kitts, July 15, 2025 (JNF Hospital Communications) -- Under the auspices of the Mental Health Service System Enhancement Project of the Taiwan ICDF in St. Kitts and Nevis, two psychiatrists from the Taipei Veterans General Hospital are in the country on a five-day visit where they are expected to evaluate, among others, work being done on the psychiatrist ward at the JNF General Hospital.
 
“We have the two consultants who have come to look at where we are with respect to the mental health programme, and where we are with respect to the work that is being done currently on the Psychiatrists Ward,” said Mr Curtis Martin, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health on Monday July 14 when the two psychiatrists were welcomed at the JNF General Hospital.
 
3 Dr Jia-Shyun Jeng, a Board-certified Psychiatrist and Board-Certified Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, and Dr Chih-Ming Cheng, a Consultant Psychiatrist, both of the Taipei Veterans General Hospital, were introduced by Ms Ivy Shih, Project Manager of the Mental Health Service System Enhancement Project of Taiwan ICDF in St. Kitts and Nevis.
 
Present at the meeting also included Ms Latoya Jeffers, Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Health in the Nevis Island Administration. After the meeting which was held at the conference room of the JNF General Hospital, they were taken on a tour of the psychiatrist ward, led by Dr Jenson Morton, Director of Health Institutions within the Ministry of Health.
 
With them included Mr McMillan Cuffy, Supervisor and Mental Health Counsellor at the Behavioural Health and Wellness Centre in Nevis; Ms Seana Cuffy, Nurse Manager of Community Mental Health, St. Kitts; and were later joined by resident psychiatrists Dr Tanya Sanchez, and Dr Victoria Gomez-Sanchez.  
 
“For the first time we have actually had one of the strong rooms outfitted, the walls have been outfitted with the right padding and so forth for the intended purpose,” said PS Martin in reference to the rehabilitation work taking place at the psychiatrist ward.
 
The Permanent Secretary outlined that policy makers both in St. Kitts and in Nevis would have travelled to Taiwan to give them the required exposure in terms of mental health capacity building, and also training activities with the community based nurses.
 
“For us, it is really about mental health, and it is about behavioural health and wellness and so we continue to roll this out to build capacity, to uplift even our Mental Day Treatment Centre, and we are going to uplift our outreach and our impact in the community,” emphasised the Permanent Secretary.
 
He said in conclusion: “We want to thank the Republic of China on Taiwan for its solid collaboration and contribution to the on-going work on mental health preparedness and action.”
 
Underscoring the timeliness of the assistance from the Republic of China on Taiwan, Dr Jenson Morton, Director of Health Institutions within the Ministry of Health, said that the Taiwanese have come to assist them with the psychiatrist work at a time when their focus for the next two years is going to be on mental health.
 
“They are assisting to begin with, with the refurbishment of the Occupational Therapy Centre, as well as with our strong isolation room with regards to the padding of those rooms,” according to Dr Morton. “They have already helped us with regards to some of the painting on the inside and the internal refreshing of the department, and we look forward to the continued helping assistance from them.”
 
In the meantime, Project Manager of the Mental Health Service System Enhancement Project of Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) in St. Kitts and Nevis, Ms Ivy Shih, advised that the two visiting consultants are in the country to also evaluate the project’s work since it was launched in November last year
 
“They will stay here for five days, and during these five days we will have the De-stigmatisation Workshop; we will have the Healthcare professional Training Workshop; and we will also have the health screening activities for them to evaluate what we are doing,” said the Project Manager.  
 

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