[image: Dhanapal earns Rs 400 every day, deftly stringing flowers together to make malas. However, the docile homeless mentally-ill man spends all his earnings buying deepams and lighting them at temples in Adyar —DC]
*J. STALIN* *10 October 2011* *CHENNAI* : Dhanapal earns Rs 400 every day, deftly stringing flowers together to make malas. However, the docile homeless mentally-ill man spends all his earnings buying deepams and lighting them at temples in Adyar —DC Despite several legislations and court orders for the welfare of mentally ill persons, Chennai’s roads, railway platforms and other public places are full of homeless mentally-ill people, eking out an existence by begging or scavenging. They provide live evidence of the authorities having failed to implement the various rehabilitation and welfare schemes meant for them in letter and spirit. The working of the Indian Lunacy Act, 1912, has revealed that it has become outmoded. However, the Mental Health Act 1987 gives protection to the mentally ill. A division bench of Justice D Murugesan and Justice K Venkataraman had on July 9, 2009, while dealing with a PIL relating to mentally-ill persons roaming around the Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district, considered the issue for the entire state and observed that mentally-ill persons were to be treated like other sick persons and the environment around them should be made as normal as possible. Recently, on a PIL by advocate A. Ramesh Manikandan, the first bench comprising Chief Justice M.Y. Eqbal and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam recorded the various rehabilitation and welfare measures undertaken by the government, which included implementing a rescue scheme, setting up 10 homes for mentally-ill persons and allocating Rs 10 lakh for each home, which provides treatment, food, clothing and facilities for recreational therapy. “It is society that produces mentally sick patients. Only when a family fails to take care of such person, he comes to the streets. law enforcement agencies should also target family members who failed to take care of such persons,” said advocate A. Sirajudeen, an author of law books. “Officials responsible for taking care of such persons are also lethargic in performing their statutory duties and the government should take action against such delinquents,” said the advocate. *Early detection key to treating mental illness* Mental illness is as much of a financial burden on a country’s economy as any other physical ailment, observes Dr. R. Sathianathan, senior psychiatrist and former director of the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). “There is a misconception that mental illness as a disability does not affect the state’s economy. Not only does the patient remain unproductive, but his caregiver is also unable to work as taking care of a mentally ill person is a full-time job. This is why families are forced to abandon mentally ill relatives at institutions like the IMH,” he says, elaborating on the World Health Organisa-tion’s theme of “Investing in mental health” for Mental Health Day 2011. The key, as with every other disease, is early detection. “If a mental disorder is detected early, we can prevent it from becoming a lifelong, chronic problem, and avoid institutionalisation. Through proper therapy and rehablitation, it is possible for a person with a psychiatric problem to learn a skill, get a job and support himself,” he says. Dr Sathianathan stresses on the need for community mental health centres where homeless mentally-ill people can live and learn basic arts such as candle-making, baking, and pottery. Rehabilitation is more important than medication in the treatment of mental disorders, as a patient will only get better if his mind is stimulated by some kind of activity. At least one crore people in India are affected by severe mental illness, and 15 times that number experience common mental disorders, or milder forms of mental illness. However, the 37 state-run ‘mental hospitals’ have a combined psychiatric bed strength of only 25,000. The regional IMH in Chennai is overflowing with patients and facing a staff crunch — there are 1,800 beds, of which at least 1,600 are occupied at any given time. Around 1,000 patients are ‘long-stay’ inmates, many of them from North India with some having been in the hospital for several decades as they have nowhere else to go. “The IMH should be treated as any other hospital, where a patient is admitted for treatment and discharged once he gets better. Instead, it is treated like an asylum, like a home for people with mental disorders to live in indefinitely,” laments Dr Sekar, the director. Social workers urge the government to provide mental healthcare at district hospitals and PHCs, so that patients can be given treatment early. *Procedure for admission to a mental hospital* According to the Mental Health Act, if a medical officer at a psychiatric hospital or the spouse or any other relative of a mentally-ill person is of the view that he needs treatment, they should apply to the magistrate having jurisdiction over the hospital or their residence, who will order if he is satisfied that the person is suffering from such mental disorder that it is necessary to hospitalise him for treatment or for his own protection and the safety of others. A police officer may also take into protection any mentally-ill person found wandering at large and produce him before a magistrate within 24 hours. In this case, the magistrate shall assess the person’s capacity to understand, get him examined by a medical officer and enquire his background. The magistrate may then send the person as an inpatient in a psychiatric hospital. *Symptoms of mental illness* *There are behavioural changes and the person becomes withdrawn or disturbed *There is unexplained irritability, anger, or tension. There is a change in personality *There are physical signs such as frequent complaints of vomiting and headache http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/chennai/society-turns-its-back-homeless-mentally-ill-people-661 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. 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