CURTAIN RAISER: National Conference on Mental Health and Human Rights (28.5.2014)
New Delhi, 28th May, 2014
The National Human Rights Commission is organising a National Conference on Mental Health and Human Rights at India International Centre in New Delhi on the 30th May, 2014 as part of its concerted efforts to keep focusing on the issues concerning relief, care and rehabilitation of mentally ill persons. It is due to Commission's effective monitoring, the number of mentally ill persons languishing in various jails has come down considerably.
The aim of the Conference is to discuss ways in which the mental health services could be strengthened from the perspective of human rights, in terms of the availability, accessibility, affordability and quality of mental health care. It will also discuss the progress made so far on its recommendations made earlier on the issue.
Involvement of community in the management of mentally ill persons; improving human resource for mental health care and creating awareness among people, especially in rural areas, about mental illness and the ways to deal with it scientifically will also be discussed.
The participants will include the representatives of concerned Union Ministries, Directors of all Mental Hospitals, National Commission's State Human Rights Commissions, NGOs, technical institutions like MCI, NIMH, NCI and RCI and community based mental health care workers and representatives of the international organisations.
As part of its mandate under Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 and as per the directions of the Supreme Court in 1997, the NHRC has been monitoring the functioning of three mental hospitals in Agra, Gwalior and Ranchi. In the same year, the Commission also commissioned a project to NIMHANS, Bangaluru to review the mental health situation in the country, particularly in the mental hospitals. It also organised a National Conference on Mental Health and Human Rights and held five Regional Review Meetings on the issue during 2009 to 2011. A series of recommendations were made to improve the mental health care system. These were sent to all the stakeholders for compliance.
In the year 2008-2009, the Commission urged the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare to augment their efforts to meet the demand for adequate manpower in the field of mental health. It proposed to the MCI to relax its Post-Graduate standards from the present norm of 'one Professor for one student' in Psychiatry to 'one Professor and two students'.
The Commission has also constituted a Core Group on Mental Health to study the problems in rehabilitation of patients who are cured and to formulate an integrated programme for rehabilitation of patients and establishment of Half-Way Home for the three mental hospitals in Agra, Ranchi and Gwalior.
The Commission has felt that there was limited knowledge about the provisions of the Mental Health Act, 1987 among the law enforcing authorities and hence, their implementation was poor. The Commission has reiterated that all the State Governments/UTs should lay emphasis on Section 25 of the Mental Health Act which specifies the powers and duties of police officers in respect of certain mentally ill persons.
The Commission also took up the plight of persons with mental illness languishing in the Chamatkari Hanuman Temple in the Chhindwara District of Madhya Pradesh. The Commission also sought intervention of the Supreme Court to issue appropriate directions on certain areas of concerns, some of which are as follows:
" There is a need to undertake a countrywide epidemiological survey to identify the magnitude of the problem of mental health with a perspective plan concerning the task, financial implications, time-frame etc. in view of the present as well as future requirement of the problems.
" There is need to give priority in allocation of financial resources by the Central and State Governments for the regular maintenance and upgradation of the physical infrastructure of mental health institutes/hospitals.
" Lack of adequate administrative and financial powers to the Directors and the Superintendents of the Mental Hospitals is seriously affecting their functioning.
" Existing State run Mental Hospitals should be converted into Teaching-cum-Training Institutes with adequate financial and manpower resources.
" The concerned State Governments may be directed to sanction medical and para-medical manpower to these institutions/hospitals as recommended by the Commission.
" Sufficient number of seats may be created in medical colleges in MD Psychiatry, M.Phil in Clinical Psychology and Psychiatric Social Work by relaxing the existing norms of Medical Council of India.
" There is need to train an integrated team of Psychiatrists, Neurologists, Neurosurgeons, Clinical Psychologists, Psychiatric Social Workers, Nurses etc. to mange mental hospitals, Medical College Hospitals & District Hospitals in the country.
" Psychiatry and mental health care should be made a compulsory independent subject in the MBBS examination so that the young medical professionals become capable of identifying the problem at the initial stage itself.
" Every State/UT must have at least one mental hospital fully equipped with latest equipments, a well developed infrastructure.
" There is a need of removal of all the deficiencies in the existing mental health hospitals w.r.t. living conditions, providing nutritious and balanced food, water supply, cleanliness and hygiene, environment, sanitation, recreation etc. in a time bound manner.
" A national database of services and human resource manpower on mental health care should be created by the Central Government.
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The National Human Rights Commission is organising a National Conference on Mental Health and Human Rights at India International Centre in New Delhi on the 30th May, 2014 as part of its concerted efforts to keep focusing on the issues concerning relief, care and rehabilitation of mentally ill persons. It is due to Commission's effective monitoring, the number of mentally ill persons languishing in various jails has come down considerably.
The aim of the Conference is to discuss ways in which the mental health services could be strengthened from the perspective of human rights, in terms of the availability, accessibility, affordability and quality of mental health care. It will also discuss the progress made so far on its recommendations made earlier on the issue.
Involvement of community in the management of mentally ill persons; improving human resource for mental health care and creating awareness among people, especially in rural areas, about mental illness and the ways to deal with it scientifically will also be discussed.
The participants will include the representatives of concerned Union Ministries, Directors of all Mental Hospitals, National Commission's State Human Rights Commissions, NGOs, technical institutions like MCI, NIMH, NCI and RCI and community based mental health care workers and representatives of the international organisations.
As part of its mandate under Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 and as per the directions of the Supreme Court in 1997, the NHRC has been monitoring the functioning of three mental hospitals in Agra, Gwalior and Ranchi. In the same year, the Commission also commissioned a project to NIMHANS, Bangaluru to review the mental health situation in the country, particularly in the mental hospitals. It also organised a National Conference on Mental Health and Human Rights and held five Regional Review Meetings on the issue during 2009 to 2011. A series of recommendations were made to improve the mental health care system. These were sent to all the stakeholders for compliance.
In the year 2008-2009, the Commission urged the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare to augment their efforts to meet the demand for adequate manpower in the field of mental health. It proposed to the MCI to relax its Post-Graduate standards from the present norm of 'one Professor for one student' in Psychiatry to 'one Professor and two students'.
The Commission has also constituted a Core Group on Mental Health to study the problems in rehabilitation of patients who are cured and to formulate an integrated programme for rehabilitation of patients and establishment of Half-Way Home for the three mental hospitals in Agra, Ranchi and Gwalior.
The Commission has felt that there was limited knowledge about the provisions of the Mental Health Act, 1987 among the law enforcing authorities and hence, their implementation was poor. The Commission has reiterated that all the State Governments/UTs should lay emphasis on Section 25 of the Mental Health Act which specifies the powers and duties of police officers in respect of certain mentally ill persons.
The Commission also took up the plight of persons with mental illness languishing in the Chamatkari Hanuman Temple in the Chhindwara District of Madhya Pradesh. The Commission also sought intervention of the Supreme Court to issue appropriate directions on certain areas of concerns, some of which are as follows:
" There is a need to undertake a countrywide epidemiological survey to identify the magnitude of the problem of mental health with a perspective plan concerning the task, financial implications, time-frame etc. in view of the present as well as future requirement of the problems.
" There is need to give priority in allocation of financial resources by the Central and State Governments for the regular maintenance and upgradation of the physical infrastructure of mental health institutes/hospitals.
" Lack of adequate administrative and financial powers to the Directors and the Superintendents of the Mental Hospitals is seriously affecting their functioning.
" Existing State run Mental Hospitals should be converted into Teaching-cum-Training Institutes with adequate financial and manpower resources.
" The concerned State Governments may be directed to sanction medical and para-medical manpower to these institutions/hospitals as recommended by the Commission.
" Sufficient number of seats may be created in medical colleges in MD Psychiatry, M.Phil in Clinical Psychology and Psychiatric Social Work by relaxing the existing norms of Medical Council of India.
" There is need to train an integrated team of Psychiatrists, Neurologists, Neurosurgeons, Clinical Psychologists, Psychiatric Social Workers, Nurses etc. to mange mental hospitals, Medical College Hospitals & District Hospitals in the country.
" Psychiatry and mental health care should be made a compulsory independent subject in the MBBS examination so that the young medical professionals become capable of identifying the problem at the initial stage itself.
" Every State/UT must have at least one mental hospital fully equipped with latest equipments, a well developed infrastructure.
" There is a need of removal of all the deficiencies in the existing mental health hospitals w.r.t. living conditions, providing nutritious and balanced food, water supply, cleanliness and hygiene, environment, sanitation, recreation etc. in a time bound manner.
" A national database of services and human resource manpower on mental health care should be created by the Central Government.
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