- Hospitals
- 3 min read
Delhi: OPDs shut, psychiatry patients in lurch
Fewer consultation for psychiatric illnesses and admissions are happening at AIIMS and Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital too. Though the facility of telemedicine is available, there has been a lukewarm response to it.
Fewer consultation for psychiatric illnesses and admissions are happening at AIIMS and Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital too. Though the facility of telemedicine is available, there has been a lukewarm response to it.

Dr Nimesh Desai, director of IHBAS, told TOI that if a mechanism wasn’t developed to facilitate continuity of treatment for people with psychiatric illnesses, it could lead to humanitarian crisis. “Stress and uncertainty, which is ubiquitous due to the Covid-19 crisis, affects psychiatric patients the most. Without treatment, their condition may worsen,” he added.
In India, the most common psychiatric illnesses are anxiety, panic attack, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. People suffering from these diseases require continuous medication and follow-up. If that isn’t available, the illness exacerbates.
“My son suffers from schizophrenia. He is not willing to take medicines and I cannot take him to hospital due to the lockdown. He has been breaking everything in the house,” said the mother of a 42-year-old patient. They shared the video of the patient with AIIMS doctors for guidance to help him through tele and video consultation.
But not everyone is tech savvy. Desai said OPD services continued at IHBAS even after the lockdown, until Dilshad Garden, which is close to the hospital, was declared a Covid-19 hotspot. “We had to shut down the OPD. However, we started a helpline for clinical support to patients over the phone. It hasn’t received a good response. We are getting only about 40-50 calls daily, which is 3-4% of the footfall in the OPD,” he added.
One of the major problems with psychiatric treatment over the phone is prescribing medicines. Often, chemists insist on a physical copy of the prescription as drugs such as Alprax, which is used to reduce anxiety, can be misused.
“My father needs sleeping pills regularly. The doctor, however, writes only SOS in the prescription. I’m worried since I can’t go to a shop and my doctor is not approachable on WhatsApp,” said Kaustubh Mathur, who lives in Ghaziabad. His mother, who suffers from psychotic symptoms, also needs Schedule-H drugs. “The medicines are not readily available and many chemists don’t give them despite showing the prescription,” he complained.
Dr Nand Kumar, professor of psychiatry at AIIMS, said the problems faced by psychiatric patients is a grave one and, if a system is not developed for emergency care and tele-consultation, a crisis situation could occur. “Urgent help is needed for patients who suffer from relapse of psychiatric illness or have suicidal tendency. Non-availability can lead to serious problems not just for the patient, but the entire family,” added the doctor.
“Usually, patients are advised physical activity and interaction with people to reduce anxiety, OCD and other problems. But the lockdown is adding to the problems,” said Kumar.
Dr Smita Deshpande of RML said families and societies should come forward to help such patients and their caregivers in this time of crisis.
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