Set up mental health institutes, allocate more funds: Madras HC tells Centre

MADURAI: Observing that 47 government-run mental health hospitals are not sufficient for a country like India with a population of nearly 136 crore, Madras high court asked the Centre to establish more central mental health institutions like Nimhans at the earliest. It should also allocate more funds for mental health care as more people are suffering from mental illness.

A division bench of justice N Kirubakaran (since retired after signing the order) and justice B Pugalendhi observed that the World Health Organization calls India the most depressed country in the world. Hence, it is the duty of the Centre along with all state governments to have a comprehensive action plan to identify patients with mental illness and provide appropriate treatment. A periodical survey should be conducted for this purpose, the court said.

Since there is an acute shortage of psychiatrists and child psychiatrists in the country, the judges said all medical colleges should have a department of psychiatry with a postgraduate course. “The concept of having only mental hospitals to provide psychiatric care is an outdated one. Now, it is believed that a majority of persons with mental illnesses can be managed in the community or through outpatient care,” the judges said while calling for efforts to have a psychiatrist in all taluk headquarters hospitals.

The court passed the order while disposing of a PIL filed by KR Raja of Madurai who sought a direction to establish an exclusive medical wing in the central prison either in Trichy or Madurai to provide mental health care to prisoners with adequate staff.