Proposed in 2014, the first-of-its-kind Rs 200-crore National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation (NIMHR) in Bhopal that aims to ensure advanced clinical services and rehabilitation of the cured mentally-ill patients has been put on the fast track. With the Empowered Finance Committee (EFC) under the Union Finance Ministry clearing the project in August this year, the proposal now awaits the Union Cabinet's nod.
Sources in the Union Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment said that there are high hopes from the NIMHR as though there are dedicated specialised national institutes for each disability — visually handicapped, hearing, physically handicapped, mentally handicapped and multiple disabilities-there is none for the rehabilitation of the mentally ill cured people.
In India, as of March 2017, an estimated 10,000 people treated for mental illnesses and fit to rejoin society continue to stay in institutions, according to the findings of a Supreme Court-mandated committee. This means that they have nowhere to go even after treatment. The Government feels that the proposed seven-floor NIMHR building to be constructed by the CPWD to be spread over in five acres in Bhopal will pave way for their rehabilitation and help integrate them into the mainstream.
The institute holds importance given that there is a serious shortage of rehabilitation services and facilities in the country. More so, because there is an acute shortage of mental health professionals who are limited in providing only curative approaches without due care to rehabilitation.
“There are hardly any trained professional in the area of mental health rehabilitation for developing appropriate rehabilitation resources for treatment, developing resource for training and capacity building, research and further advocacy and policy development. The proposed institute will take care of these requirements,” the sources added.
Dr Smita N Deshpande, Professor & Head of Department of Psychiatry, Centre of Excellence in Mental Health, Dr Ram Manohar lohia Hospital agreed. “There are thousands of people who have completed their treatment courses, been declared fit for discharge. But they are still either stuck in psychiatric facilities or in the absence of any rehabilitation are back in the hospitals,” she added.
This is an indicator of the larger system failure to respond effectively to mental healthcare needs in the country. We need to have caring and enabling environment for persons with mental illnesses and facilitate their rehabilitation, said S Parasuraman, director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) at an event in Mumbai recently.
According to the WHO, not only 56 million Indians suffer from depression at this moment, another 38 millions are in the grip of anxiety disorders that require expert intervention.