*20 September 2011* *Sanjeev Shivadekar*
*MUMBAI* : Alarmed by the increasing number of mentally ill patients being abandoned by their families even after receiving treatment, the state government has decided to tighten the admission process of patients. Maharashtra has 941 people who have been cured of their mental disorders, but continue to stay in mental asylums because their families don't want them. "There is a need to understand why family members are not taking back the cured patients. Families need to be counselled on this issue," public health minister Suresh Shetty said after a meeting of the committee appointed to suggest measures to improve rehabilitation and infrastructure of the existing mental hospitals. The state has four mental hospitals-one each in Pune, Thane, Nagpur and Ratnagiri. Pune, with 646 patients, has the most number of patients who have been cured but remain at the asylum. In Thane, 162 patients have been abandoned by their families, while Ratnagiri and Nagpur hospitals have 68 and 65 patients waiting to go home. The committee has now recommended that all mental hospitals admit patients only after a thorough scrutiny of the address given by the patient's family. Dr Harish Shetty, one of the psychiatrists who attended the meeting said, "It was a brainstorming session to decide next year's agenda for mental health. The meeting focused on ways of strengthening mental health services in the state and ways to improve community mental health. The state has also decided to recruit dedicated staff with special training for handling patients. "These patients are not like normal patients. One needs to give them more attention and handle them with utmost care and patience. Right from the watchmen to the top doctors should have special training to handle such patients," Shetty said. The state has decided to set up a mental hospital in Marathwada district. "The department's focus is to have one such hospital in every district so that citizens do not have to travel to cities for treatment," said the minister. Considering the increasing number of mentally ill patients abandoned by their families even after being treatment, the state government has decided to tighten the admission process of patients. Maharashtra has 941 people who have been cured of their mental ailments, but are staying in the mental asylum because their families don't want them. There is a need to understand why family members are not taking back their cured patient," public health minister Suresh Shetty said. Families need to be counseled on this issue," he said after a meeting of the committee appointed to suggest measures for improve rehabilitation and infrastructure of the existing mental hospitals. The state has four mental hospitals-one each in Pune, Thane, Nagpur and Ratnagiri. Pune has the highest number of patients (646) who are cured, but stay back in hospital. Similarly, in Thane, 162 patients who are waiting for their family members to take them back. The Ratnagiri and Nagpur hospitals have 68 and 65 patients respectively. The committee has recommended that all mental hospitals should admit patients only after a thorough scrutiny of the address given by the patient's family. One of the psychiatrists who attended the meeting, Dr Harish Shetty, said, It was a brainstorming session to decide the next year's agenda for mental health. The meeting focused on ways of strengthening mental health services in the state and on ways to improve community mental health.'' The state has decided to have dedicated staff with special training for handling patients. These patients are not like normal patients. One needs to give them more attention and handle them with utmost care and patience. Right from the watchmen to the top-most doctors in the hospital should have special training to handle such patients," Shetty added. Meanwhile, the state government has decided to set up a mental hospital in Marathwada district. The department's focus is to have one such hospital in every district so that citizens do not have to travel from their village to cities for treatment,'' said the minister. *Times View* The state health machinery's decision to focus on mental health problems couldn't have come at a better moment. There has been an alarming rise in the number of suicides, instances of road rage and murders-all indicators of poor mental health hygiene among people. There is an acute need to identify and solve the various problems with our present mental health system; better infrastructure and rehabilitation services are only the most obvious ones. The state should ensure that the committee meets every month as promised instead of forgetting about mental health for years on end. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-20/mumbai/30179552_1_mentally-ill-patients-mental-health-mental-hospitals -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. 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