Govt Run Mental Hospitals In A ‘Pathetic’ State: Rights Panel

New Delhi:  The NHRC on Wednesday said all the 46 government-run mental healthcare institutions across the country are in “deplorable conditions.” It issued notices to the Centre and state governments asking them to submit their reports in six weeks.

The human rights panel’s observations have come on the basis of the visits of the full commission to four government hospitals in Gwalior, Agra and Ranchi, and the remaining 42 by its special rapporteurs in various parts of the country in the last few months to assess the situation on the ground and the status of the implementation of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, officials said, according to a PTI report.

The National Human Rights Commission in a statement said that “all the 46 government mental healthcare institutions across the country are in deplorable conditions and depict a very pathetic handling by the different stakeholders”.

“The inhuman and deplorable conditions of the mental health institutes recorded by it across the country, present sorry states of affairs amounting to infringement of the human rights of mentally ill patients. The cured patients are being kept illegally in the hospitals. There is acute shortage of doctors and staff,” it said.

The reports of the visits have prompted it to take suo motu cognisance of the matter and issue notices to the Union Health and Family Welfare secretary; Director General of Health Services; chief secretaries and principal secretaries, health; director general of police and commissioner of police in metropolitan cities of all the state governments as well as Union territories, and directors of 46 mental institutions across the country calling for the specific reports and detailed action taken reports within six weeks, the statement said.

The chief secretaries, secretaries of health, and UT administrators have to submit an action-taken report on how the cured patients are being kept illegally in mental hospitals by curtailing their liberty, the report added.

What NHRC wants

• All cured patients to be sent back to their homes/halfway homes as per rules.
• Reports “on status of formation of Mental Health Authority, State Mental Health Review Board, State Mental Health Care Rules, and State Mental Health Care Regulation.”
• Details on budgetary allocation and funds released with regard to the mental health institutions
• State of the infrastructure of the institutes, plan for improvement of the buildings which include various amenities
• Status of the recruitment process of the health professionals including hospital staff.
• Measures taken to ensure de-crowding of mental hospitals/institutes.
• Create a conducive atmosphere for stay.
• Details on the status of emergency services, maintenance of electronic data and medical records, measures and initiatives taken for reintegration and rehabilitation of the cured patients.
• Statistics regarding discharged patients of the last five years and their rehabilitation, reunion with the family or community, and how many of them have become new inmates again.
• Status of the number of such persons staying in the hospital with reasons thereof; and financial or social audit report of last three years.