*6 April 2011* *Merlin Francis * *Bangalore* : The Beggars’ Colony on Magadi Road lies neglected,withrising numbers of mentally unstable inmates.
Of the 347 inmates at the centre, about 152 are said to be suffering from various mental illnesses. The government, on its part, doesn’t seem to worry about these inmates, with not much investment going into their treatment. Only solace for the inmates is the visit by a team of Nimhans (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences) doctors and paramedical staff. The team comprising four psychiatrists, social workers and psychiatric nurses, visits the patients on first and third Thursdays of each month. They first review the new inmates and then the older inmates. The three in-house doctors in the colony follow the prescriptions and advice given by the Nimhans team, and in case of emergencies, contact the team through telephone. Wing Commander Prof JW Sabhaney, senior consultant psychiatrist, advisor to the Medico Pastoral Association, said, “Weekly rounds need to be done by psychiatrists in the colony. And there are patients with acute disorders who need daily attention.” “It seems that the needs of nearly 46% of the population at the colony are not completely met,” he said. Dr Kishore Kumar, who heads the medical team, said, “Of course what we are doingis not enough. But, with nohelp from either the government or NGOs, nobody is showing interest in the inmates.We are doing the best we can with our available resources. Every patient is managed and taken care of. There is still a lot more to be done.” While the colony has always been understaffed, the government did increase the medical staff after the mass deaths of the inmates in August last.Kumar said, “In order to give adequate medical care for even the most stable patients the government needs to invest more money. Staff strength also need to be increased.” Stating that the government medical colleges as well as the state mental health professionals need to set asidemore time and money for the colony, he said, “Trying to take care of sick people is probably not on the government’s agenda right now.” http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=91aa6772-4811-4a58-9bc0-8aa271ed99df -- 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
