Government body to monitor mental healthcare

CHENNAI: One year after the Centre passed the Mental Health Care Act in 2017, it has finally constituted the Central Mental Health Authority (CMHA) to monitor and regulate all mental health institutions in the country.

The new body has widened representation of members, including mental health service users, caregivers, mental health professionals and NGOs.

“Unless you have members from outside, change will not happen,” said Akhileshwar Sahay, new member of CMHA.

Akhilesh is a survivor of mental illness and principal instigator of Pune-based NGO ‘Whole Mind India Foundation.’ In the year 2012, the ministry of health and family welfare appointed a policy group to prepare a national mental health policy and plan following which there was an attempt to renew the existing Mental Health Care Act.

The central idea was to focus on their rights and to have rules in sync with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. India is a signatory of the convention and had ratified it in 2007. Later, the Centre passed the new Mental Health Care Act in 2017 which mandates constitution of the CMHA, the State Mental Health Authority (SMHA) and Mental Health Review Boards.

The primary duties of CMHA is to monitor and regulate establishment of mental health institutions across the country, registration of clinicians, ensure availability of medications in primary health centres (PHCs) , develop quality and service provision norms, train stakeholders on provision of the ACT and advise the Centre on mental health care and services.

The CMHA consists of 12 members, both officio and non-officio, including users, caregivers and mental health professionals . The committee is chaired by Sanjeeva Kumar, additional secretary of health, ministry of health and family welfare. They had their first meeting on November 20.

Rajesh Sagar, member of CMHA and professor of psychiatry at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences who also helped draft rules of the Mental Health Care Act said the goal is to ensure that all provisions in the Act are duly followed. Vandana Gopikumar, another member of CMHA and co-founder of The Banyan added, “The success of the CMHA and SMHAs will be in making available appropriate and comprehensive care be it in PHCs, hospitals or in inclusive settings for those with long term needs as mandated by the Act, and in decreasing disability and suffering as a result of mental disorders.” SMHA in Tamil Nadu was set up earlier this year and is now being reconstituted.