L’épidémie du COVID-19 est survenue au Gabon à une période où l’hôpital psychiatrique vit une crise sans précédent du fait d’une baisse des moyens matériels et humains. À partir de l’expérience clinique des soignants, nous présentons les difficultés que rencontrent ces acteurs du soin pour maintenir l’alliance thérapeutique.

L’article expose une synthèse de travaux sur le confinement, le COVID-19 et les troubles psychiques.

Globalement, on observe une baisse des consultations en ambulatoire. En zone rurale, la crise sanitaire a occasionné une suppression des suivis au domicile des patients ainsi qu’une difficulté d’accès aux médicaments psychotropes onéreux, favorisant l’inobservance du traitement avec comme conséquence des décompensations psychiatriques.

Gabonese psychiatry is facing a crisis, which results in a decrease in material and human resources. Hospital beds are closed and consultations are mainly on an out-patient basis. This article shows how health care workers are coping with this pandemic, and the challenges of maintaining the therapeutic alliance. It presents a synthesis of works on confinement, COVID-19 and mental disorders. Clinical observations reveal that the COVID-19 epidemic has strengthened the dysfunctions observed in care. In rural areas, there is a suppression of follow-up at home. In general, this health crisis had an impact on the purchasing power of patients. What caused a difficulty of payment of the psychiatric consultations in liberal, a difficulty of access to the expensive psychotropic drugs, thus favouring a non-observance of the care, and a decompensation of the psychiatric picture. In urban areas, there is a considerable decrease in out-patient consultations. There is still concern about the inter- and post COVID-19 psychiatric care. This pandemic calls on leaders leading to a reorganisation of the psychiatric care system (decentralisation of establishments throughout the country, training of qualified nursing staff, fall in the prices of expensive psychotropic drugs). The establishment of helplines in psychiatric facilities, the opening of hospital beds, COVID-19 devices in public and private facilities for patients with mental disorders are essential.