<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/> Mental health prog fails to meet purposeTNN, Aug 29, 2010, 08.50pm IST KANPUR: The national mental health programme<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=national%20mental%20health%20programme> (NMHP) has not made any substantial progress in the Industrial City in the past several years.
The programme was launched to ensure availability of adequate mental health care facilities for the people. The condition could be gauged from the fact that there is only one psychiatrist in the district hospital, while no mental health facility is available at the community healthcare centres in villages. Started in 1982, the mental health programme was launched to benefit the underprivileged sections of the society. The main objective of the programme was to ensure the availability of and accessibility to minimum mental healthcare. It was planned to encourage the application of mental health knowledge in general healthcare and to promote community participation in mental health services development. Ironically, no initiative has been taken so far in this regard. There are no psychiatry lab at the district hospital to provide the standard medical facility. Besides, there are no trained professionals in ten blocks of the district. To ensure proper implementation of the programme at the district level, the key component of the programme was to conduct training sessions for all the workers of mental health team identified at the nodal institute in the state. However, no such training camp was conducted in the past many years, said senior health officials. "Under the NMHP, the national advisory group has identified eleven institutions to impart basic knowledge and skills in the field of mental health to primary healthcare physicians and para-medical personnel. Presently, the programme covers 94 districts," said chief medical officer Dr Ashok Mishra. "The main motto of the programme was to spread awareness about mental health to reduce stigma. However, with the passage of time, it turned out to be a 'snail-paced project' as the National Human Rights Commission<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=National%20Human%20Rights%20Commission> (NHRC) was involved to monitor the condition at mental hospitals along with the Central <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Central> and the state governments," said Mishra. The NMHP <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=NMHP> was taken into consideration in the 10th Five Year Plan. The main aim was to organise district mental health programmes in an effective manner at mental hospitals. Besides, the programme also entailed upgradation of departments of psychiatry at medical colleges and enhancement of psychiatry content in the medical curricula at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6457230.cms?prtpage=1 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/MhaNewsViewsIndia?hl=en ------------- Affiliated Groups : MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY INDIA [email protected] Discussions on mental health law / policy / plan monitoring / human rights etc [email protected] India-specific news and views related to mental health [email protected] Information and support to carers of people with mental health issues [email protected] Mutual support and sharing of experiential knowledge, skills and social learning amongst peers
