Central Hall – Mental Health & Insanity

@prashanthamine

Mumbai: Be it the ragging absurd and shrill debates on the television, claims of who attracts the most eyeballs and those shedding semblance of any neutrality in civil service, notwithstanding  all of this, it exposes our dark underbelly when it comes to issues of mental health.  Right now it all borders on insanity and no serious thought is being given to address the obvious short-comings.

But here we are not going to talk anything about politics here, but more about the alarming, woefully pathetic and shameful mental health care system that we have. In a way our response to this issue which most of the time is borne out of stigmatization, is misconceived and shrouded in secrecy that is more out of fear of embarrassment.

According to the World Mental Health Atlas, 2017 (WMHA) brought out by the World Health Organisation (WHO) our suicide mortality rate which is as high as 16.3 percent. The ratio of total mental health workers per one lakh population is just 1.93 mental health care workers. The same ratio in developed countries is around 70.

Also Read: WHO report raises concerns over Covid-19 and its impact on mental health

We have just 136 hospitals that cater to mental health issues. Beyond the Agra, Thane and Yerwada mental hospitals, the mental health care facilities are not that known.  Worst of it all is that we spend just 1.30 percent of our budget on mental health infrastructure. We have had a standalone law on mental health issues as late as 2017, a good 70 years after independence.

The WHO in its latest report has raised serious concern over the impact of the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic on our mental health. The deadly dangerous disease has affected us, raising our anxieties and fears as it has led to job loss, other means of livelihoods and the loss of our loved ones.

The pandemic has exposed the woefully inadequate mental health care system that we have and our response to any major traumatic crisis. The impact of any major natural or man-made calamity on mental health was for the first time acknowledged in the aftermath of the September 30, 1993 Latur earthquake. It is not clear as to whether the subsequent terror attacks have had any traumatic effects on our psyche. In the aftermath of the Latur earthquake, steps were taken to counsel people who were left traumatized due to the loss of life and property.

We have been so casual and ill-informed about mental health is that we either tend to brush it away by treating it as lunacy or hide it out of sheer embarrassment. And hence our response to other mental health issues like Autism, Cerebral Palsy, physical disabilities and Learning Disability is just as the same.

The Covid-19 pandemic has really exposed the inadequacies as there has been no back-up plan to deal with or decide upon how to provide mental health care to those who are under stress and tension due to it.

The pandemic in some cases has made those affected by mental health issues destitute and alone. With trained manpower and lack of requisite number of expert care givers, the problem becomes more acute for those affected by other mental health issues like Autism, Cerebral Palsy and Learning Disability.

There is a dangerous tendency amongst health care workers and the administration to brand even cases of Learning Disability and physically disabilities as lunacy.  There is just no mechanism in place to deal with care of people suffering from Alzheimer, Parkinson, Learning Disability, Autism or Cerebral Palsy.

Availability of trained manpower especially care givers and trainers for patients afflicted by Autism or Learning Disability has suddenly become a major issue more so in these times of Coronavirus.  

There are caregivers for geriatric care, but not many for other maladies like Autism or Learning Disabilities. Ignorance and lack of awareness is the prime reason for the shortage of caregivers or health care workers. The problem is being felt more acutely by single parents and those who have been left to fend for themselves either due to old age or being orphaned.

Government can, if it wants to, convert this challenge into an opportunity by coming up with an infrastructure that not only provides health care to people affected by such mental health issues, but also can provide employment avenues to the youth and the unemployed. The mental health care sector is in urgent need of massive investment both financially and in terms of manpower resources.