The situation was bad, really bad, during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the deadly waves of the novel coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) snuffed out lakhs of lives across the world, those who survived the disease were severely affected mentally, battling depression, anxiety and other ailments.
A study done on the burden of depressive and anxiety disorders in 204 countries and territories prompted the Indian government to take a number of initiatives to address the mental health issues being faced by people across the country.
The initiatives included setting up of a 24x7 helpline (14416 or 18008914416) to provide psycho-social support with the help of mental health professionals to the entire affected population, who were divided into different target groups — children, adult, elderly, women and healthcare workers.
Guidelines and advisories were issued for management of mental health issues catering to different segments of the society. Management of stress and anxiety was advocated through various media platforms in the form of creative and audio-visual materials and promotion was done for creating an environment of support and care for all.
The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru issued guidelines for general medical and specialised mental healthcare settings, while online capacity building of health workers in providing psycho-social support and training was provided through the (iGOT)-Diksha platform.
To provide affordable and accessible mental healthcare facilities to people, especially the poor and underprivileged, the Central Government is implementing the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP). The District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) component of NMHP is being implemented in 716 districts through the National Health Mission.
The facilities under DMHP at the Community Health Centre (CHC) and Primary Health Centre (PHC) levels include outpatient services, assessment, counselling, psycho-social interventions, continuing care and support to people with severe mental disorders, drugs, outreach services, ambulance services, etc.
The Centre also launched a “National Tele Mental Health Programme” on October 10, 2022, to improve access to quality mental health counselling and care services across the country. As of March 9, 2023, 25 States and Union Territories have set up 36 Tele MANAS Cells and started mental health services. In all, 63,806 calls have been handled on the helpline number.
Future planning of the government under the tertiary care component of National Mental Health Programme includes setting up of 25 Centres of Excellence and 47 PG departments to increase the intake of students for them to qualify as mental health specialists as well as to provide tertiary-level treatment facilities.
Three mental health institutions that are under the administrative control of the Central Government have been allocated Rs 865.3 crore for the year 2022-23. While NIMHANS, Bengaluru has been sanctioned Rs 678 crore, Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health in Tezpur, Assam would be given Rs 58.3 crore and Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi Rs 129 crore.
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