New Delhi, October 10: As many as 20 million Indians are believed to be suffering from mental illnesses, but there are only 3,500 psychiatrists and 1,500 psychiatric nurses to treat them, say experts.
Not only does India lag far behind western countries when it comes to mental health manpower but it also falls short of some Asian countries, they say.
“India’s mental health manpower is grossly inadequate. The number of psychiatrists for one million population ranges from 0.4 in India to 3 in the Maldives, and the number of psychiatric nurses from 0.4 in India to 18 in Sri Lanka,” RC Jiloha, head of the department of psychiatry in GB Pant Hospital, told an agency.
He said it is estimated that about one to two percent of India’s billion-plus population suffers from major mental disorders and about five percent of the population from minor depressive disorders.
“The number of patients in this country is totally disproportionate to the number of doctors. We urgently need more psychiatrists,” he added.
“There are not many training centres and less of teachers. Most of these students and teachers are going abroad for greener pastures. The number of such doctors is going up very fast,” he added.
He said the government expenditure on mental health in the majority of SAARC countries was less than one percent of the total national health budget.
“Most of the people needing treatment have to spend from their own pocket, and most are not covered by insurance schemes. The majority of poor people do not get adequate treatment, or they prefer alternatives which are not effective,” he added.
Jiloha said one way to handle the paucity is by training general practitioners and by exposing the undergraduate students to tackle mental health problems.
In fact, their hospital has trained 800 doctors in Delhi.
“Patients first go to general practitioners. If they get the right treatment there, half the problem is solved and there is not much burden on psychiatrists,” he said.
“The magnitude of mental health problems is huge, with limited financial and other resources, the paucity of skilled mental health professionals and more emphasis on treating communicable diseases. Thus a cost-effective strategy is necessary for better healthcare delivery,” Jiloha added.
MS Bhatia, head of the psychiatric department at G.T.B. Hospital, said: “A shocking 70 million people suffer from mental ailments and yet, 50-90 percent of them are not able to access corrective services. Awareness of mental health is just not enough.”
“Most of the psychiatrists are based in cities or private hospitals. But it’s the government hospitals that face an acute shortage, although they are the ones which treat the poor,” said Bhatia in whose hospital there are posts for five psychiatrists, but only two are occupied.
–Agencies