Ghana’s premier psychiatric facility began as a Lunatic Asylum in February 1888, by a Legislative Instrument (LI) under the signature of the then governor, Sir Edward Griffiths. The construction of a new hospital at Adabraka in 1904 which has now become the present Accra Psychiatric Hospital, was commissioned in 1906 to accommodate some 200 patients.
Today, the hospital accommodates over 400 patients, having been downsized from the over 600 patients who were crumped in the facility. The Accra Psychiatric Hospital is responsible for the treatment, welfare, training and rehabilitation of the mentally ill in and around the central part of Accra and those from other parts of the country.

The University of Ghana Medical School has a faculty established at the hospital for undergraduate training in Psychiatry and postgraduate training under the West African College of Psychiatrists (WACP). The hospital thus has a symbiotic relationship with the medical school.

Again, nurses from all over the country are affiliated to this hospital for their 6-month proficiency training in Psychiatry. This has however been spread to be carried out in the three psychiatric facilities in the country today.

Today, the hospital’s bed state stands at 300 patients at any given time. However, this has not been the case as the hospital continues to be over crowded with an increasing population and therefore a growing demand on the limited facilities. This has tended to compromise the comfort and general well-being of patients and constitute an appreciable strain on its resources i.e., working materials, staff and funds.