Lucknow: KGMU for major revamp in mental health sector

Lucknow: While 90% people in UP have experienced stress in the past year, the state has only one psychiatrist and one psychologist for every one lakh population. In the wake of this acute crisis, King George’s Medical University (KGMU) on Thursday recommended a major manpower boost in the mental health sector.


The psychiatry and community medicine departments of KGMU, with support from UP Health Strengthening System Project, had interviewed 12,000 respondents from Maharajganj, Muzaffarnagar, Jhansi and Lakhimpur Kheri districts. Based on the results, which also pointed to a vicious stress-social medial cycle, a 10-point advisory has been given to the government.

“The state has just one psychiatrist for every one lakh people. According to the 1946 Bhore Committee recommendations, there should be at least 10 experts per 1 lakh people. The state needs to boost manpower in the sector. In addition, the negatives of excessive social media use should be highlighted in schools and students should be engaged in more physical activities,” said Dr Sujit Kar, a member of the research team from the psychiatry department.

The study found high level of stress among adolescents, which was related to education. For this, the KGMU has recommended overhauling of school syllabuses and inclusion of counsellors. “The government should also consider developing a stress-monitoring mobile phone application or spread awareness about such apps already available,” Dr Kar added.

Expanding the mental health programme from 45 to all the 75 districts in UP, training of anganwadi workers for mental health screening at primary level and strict enforcement of de-addiction laws to combat substance abuse are also some of the recommendations made to the government.