On World Mental Health Day, NHRC issues an Advisory to ensure the welfare and rights of persons with mental illnesses;

Press release

National Human Rights Commission

New Delhi, 10th October, 2023

On World Mental Health Day, NHRC issues an Advisory to ensure the welfare and rights of persons with mental illnesses;

Proper implementation of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 emphasized

Include treatment of mental illnesses in insurance policies and schemes to increase accessibility and affordability to mental health care

'Mental Health' as a subject recommended for the funds under Corporate Social Responsibility

Help patients and their family members to open their bank accounts and make them aware and facilitate with various benefits under social welfare schemes

Expeditiously provide the halfway homes system, increase family wards, and coordinate rehabilitation with multiple departments

Today on World Mental Health Day, the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, India, has issued an Advisory to the Centre, States and UT Administrations to ensure the welfare and rights of persons with mental illnesses. The Commission has observed that mental health is the foundation for the well-being of any person for a meaningful and productive life. However, despite the enactment of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 to provide mental healthcare services to persons with mental illnesses and protect their rights; its implementation on the ground remains a matter of concern.

The Advisory has focused on seven key areas for action by the Centre, States and UT Administrations to ensure the welfare and rights of persons with mental illnesses. These include implementation of existing laws and policies, infrastructure and amenities, human resources, outreach and community services, rehabilitation of recovered patients, services of the States and mass awareness and sensitization.

The Commission, in a letter to the Secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Welfare, Chief Secretaries of States and Administrators of Union Territories, has asked for the implementation of its recommendations in letter and spirit and sought Action Taken Reports within two months.

Some of the important recommendations, among others, are as follows;

• Insurance policies and schemes should include treatment of mental illnesses to increase accessibility and affordability to mental health care;

• To boost accessibility to treatments for mental disorders for financially disadvantaged populations, it is necessary to include mental illness in the "Aayushman Bharat" scheme;

• Appropriate help be provided to patients and their family members to open their bank accounts and they should be made aware and facilitated with various benefits and social schemes;

• Camps may be organized and set up in Establishments to provide Aadhaar cards to patients and to update their details mandatorily;

• 'Mental Health' may also be included as a subject matter to which Corporate Social Responsibility Funds may be given under Schedule VII (i) of the Companies Act, 2013;

• A person should be specified in each Establishment to ensure free legal aid is provided, as mandated under Section 27 of the Act, 2017;

• Establishments be maintained and enhanced in general amenities, including the number of beds, water, sanitation, food, bedding, clothing, provision of recreational activities, etc;

• Capabilities with special care for the geriatric population with mental illness be created in addition to a separate ward for children and adolescents and increasing the number of family wards to provide better mental healthcare to the patients in proximity to their families in all Establishments;

• Expeditiously provide the halfway homes system, as mandated by Section 19 (3) of the Act 2017, rehabilitation efforts must be coordinated with multiple departments;

• Patients should not be retained in Establishments even for a day after declaring fit for discharge;

• All fatalities on the premises of a hospital, institution, shelter home, shared housing, rehabilitation home, halfway house, mercy house, etc., must be reported to the local police within 24 hours and to NHRC within 48 hours of the death;

• A common web portal for registering all mental health professionals be provided in the public domain to facilitate achieving the target under Section 31 (3) of 10 years;

• All States/ UTs must prioritize constituting Mental Health Authority, Mental Health Review Boards and framing Rules and Regulations as mandated under sections 45, 73, 121 and 123 of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 (Act, 2017);

• A structured programme for every district called the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) may be prepared, involving community workers;

• As envisaged in the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP), State Governments may emphasize public-private partnerships in the Mental Health sector and Public awareness generation activities to deal with social stigma, discrimination and lack of awareness about mental illness in society;

• More PG seats be created in proportion to the requirements, including DPM, MD, DNB, MPhil., PhD in Psychiatry, Psychology, PSW, and DPN and other diplomas, degrees, fellowships, etc. As mandated under Section 31(3) of the Act, 2017, efforts must be made to meet internationally accepted guidelines for a number of mental health professionals based on population by 2027;

• As a separate subject, psychiatry be included in the undergraduate medical curriculum. Every opportunity must be utilized to train doctors in basic psychiatry;

• Training modules be developed to train non-psychiatric doctors, ASHA workers, community health officers, services providers at health and wellness centres, and other frontline workers in basic diagnosis and they be trained to acquire mental health first-aid skills;

• The vacant positions, including doctors and other staff, in all Establishments should be filled up immediately;

• Posts of counselors with qualified staff must be filled expeditiously at the school/ college level and also at the NMPH/ DMPH level by the Government;

• Mass awareness and sensitization must be carried out via campaigns, television, newspapers, and other media in all local languages to increase public awareness of issues relating to mental health;

For more details, click on the link: https://nhrc.nic.in/document/advisory-mental-health

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