Jun 17, 2012 NEW DELHI: The story of the two sisters who were rescued from their apartment in Rohini on Saturday is not new. There have been two similar incidents reported in Delhi in the past few years. But despite this, there remains a lack of awareness about mental illnesses and social apathy towards such people. Psychiatrists say that there is need for a government-run helpline service to address the issue.
In the recent case, the elder sister weighs just 15 kg, has bedsores and her body is infected with maggots. She can't move her limbs. Her younger sister, too, suffers from a serious psychiatric disorder. Neighbours say the two sisters have been in this condition for nearly two years. But in the last four months, things had deteriorated. Their 65-year old mother says her two daughters never wanted to go to the hospital. Doctors say that in such cases, the role of neighbours becomes even more crucial. "If the neighbours knew about the sisters, they should have informed police. It is a clear case of social apathy. In such cases, neighbours have to play a proactive role,'' said Sameer Parikh, director, mental health centre at Fortis Healthcare. Explaining the mental condition of such patients, Dr Nand Kishore, associate professor of psychiatry at AIIMS said, "In such cases, patients first withdraw themselves from any social activity or try to get away from people. They stop taking care of themselves and many die due to starvation or by committing suicide," he said. Apart from the sisters, doctors say the complete mental evaluation of the elder sister's 13-year-old son, who used to stay with them, should be done and his rehabilitation should be planned accordingly. "There is a need to assess the mental state of the son as he has been seeing them in this condition for nearly a year. Once the assessment is done, only then can one plan his rehabilitation into the mainstream,'' said Dr Sameer Malhotra, head of the department, mental health at Max Healthcare. Doctors say that millions of mentally ill people across the country continue to suffer in similar circumstances due to lack of timely intervention. The government, experts say, needs to set up a helpline where people can call and report about such incidents so that the state government can provide held. "Like we have police helpline number, a helpline should be there for mental illnesses. The government should also rope in RWAs so that such people can be given timely medical assistance,'' said Dr Jitender Nagpal, senior consultant psychiatrist, Moolchand Medicity. "People don't consider mental illness as a disease that can be treated. There is still a stigma attached to mental illness. Anxiety and depression, which are the most common conditions and can be easily treated, are referred to doctors only when the patient's condition worsens. The attitude of our society towards mentally ill patients needs to change," said Dr Nagpal. Doctors say millions of mentally ill people across the country continue to suffer due to lack of timely intervention. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-17/delhi/32281740_1_mentally-ill-people-mental-health-mental-state -- 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
