National seminar on 'Mental Health and Human Rights'<br>

The NHRC Chairperson, Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan has said that there is a need to conduct nation-wide survey to identify the magnitude of the problems related to mental health so that proper strategies could be adopted to address the existing shortcomings in the mental healthcare system in the country. He was inaugurating a national seminar on "Mental Health & Human Rights" organized by the NHRC in New Delhi on the 10th October, 2012 to mark the "World Mental Health Day". He said that prevention, treatment, rehabilitation are key issues concerning mental health care. High priority needs to be given to mental health like other health issues and for this area, governments should allocate sufficient funds.
Justice Balakrishnan said that the Commission is concerned about the discrimination of mentally ill persons in society. They are equally entitled to all the rights like other human beings. Acceptability of the persons in society after their treatment is something for which all sections of society need to respond. From human rights point of view, mentally ill patients should not be refused admission and treatment in hospitals. Furthermore, they along with their attendants need to be treated with dignity.
NHRC's persistent review of implementation of its recommendations by governments, under a mandate given to it by the Supreme Court, has brought in some improvements, but about forty mental care hospitals in the public sector are not sufficient to cater to the requirements of so many people suffering with different kinds of psychological disorders.
Referring to a highly qualified young man from Bihar and his death due to severe beating in a Kerala mental hospital in the recent past, Justice Balakrishnan said that he was saddened by the incident. People suffering from psychological disorders needed to be treated sympathetically. He made an appeal that civil society should come forward in providing some job orientation or training to the persons who have been cured of their mental disorders so that they could earn their livelihood with dignity.
In the context of depression as one of the mental illnesses, he referred to a large number of cases of farmers' suicide in some States in the country and said that crop failure can not be singled out as the only reason behind this trend as it is not a recent phenomena. He also said that he is not against the faith healing, but people should have the choice and accessibility to approach the proper mental healthcare facilities.
Earlier, Mr. J.S. Kochher, Joint Secretary (Trg.), NHRC said that there is very little knowledge about mental health in rural areas and in absence of proper mental healthcare facilities in the vicinity, they turn to faith healers. He said that importance of spreading awareness about medicines and health care among the people in rural areas is very important.
Several key issues were discussed during the day-long seminar spread into three thematic sessions, each chaired by the NHRC Members, Mr. Justice G.P. Mathur, Mr. Justice B.C. Patel and Mr. Satyabrata Pal. The discussions were focused on the following issues:
o Human Rights and Mental Health Care: Issues of concern and way forward;
o Legislative & Policy Framework - Current scenario and need for harmonization with UNCRPD;
o Depression, a global crisis - Indian scenario which is also the theme of this year's "World Mental Health Day".
Some of the important suggestions that emerged during the discussions were as follows:
o Some teams of villagers should be set up by sensitizing them to act as counsellors in their area on mental health issues;
o Work out mechanism of centralized storage of pesticides in the villages to check their easy access to farmers;
o Focus on the study of suicidal tendencies among people to help develop suicide prevention programme;
o Initiate measures to move from emphasis on custodial care to community based care for the cure and rehabilitation of mentally ill persons;
o Policy should translate into action with a multi-sectoral approach;
o Mental health programme needs to be made functional in various districts so as to pay equal attention to rural areas vis-à-vis urban areas;
o More emphasis on psychiatry in the curriculum of MBBS courses;
o Utilize media in its various forms to promote mental health awareness with a rights based perspective;
o Work on strategy to get permission/authorization for treatment of mentally ill persons, especially, those homeless mentally ill persons, who roam around religious places and elsewhere; Also strengthen legal framework to check rampant sexual exploitation of mentally ill persons.
The speakers included Dr. Nimesh G. Desai, Director, IHBAS, Delhi, Dr. Prathibha Murthy, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, Dr. R. Sarawal, Advisor, Planning Commission, Prof. Amita Dhanda, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, Dr. Rajesh Sagar, Additional Professor, Department of Psychiatry, AIIMS, Dr. Sameer Malhotra, Head, Department of Mental Health, MAX Healthcare and Dr. Lakshmi Vijayakumar, Founder Trustee, SNEHA, Chennai.