A TOTAL of 25 patients from three government-run mental hospitals in Chennai arrived at Pune railway station on Dussehra while awaiting a new beginning at the Karjat-based Shraddha Rehabilitation Foundation. They will be reunited with their families within a month, Dr Bharat Vatwani, founder trustee of the foundation and Magsaysay Award winner told The Indian Express.
A bus from the Foundation brought the patients along with social workers and support staff to Karjat, (2 hours away from Pune), where they will reunite with their families. The Foundation has reunited at least 9,000 mentally ill patients with their families in the last 15-16 years, Dr Vatwani said. He added that this is for the first time that such a large group of patients were shifted from a mental hospital to a rehabilitation centre.
“These unfortunate men and women are often seen wandering on the roads, living in poor health conditions. They barely survive on water and leftovers of food thrown at them by passers-by. With no one to look after them they are on the roads for weeks and months,” Dr Vatwani said.
The Foundation was set up in 1988 to help mentally ill and destitute patients and the Karjat project was set up in 2006. Services are free and the Foundation does not accept patients brought by families. It has tied up with various mental institutions across the country, and the present lot of patients are mainly from northern India.
“These patients were selected by our team of social workers from different institutions in Tamil Nadu, including government-run Institute of Mental Health Chennai, Emergency Care and Recovery Centre, Chennai and others like Anbagam NGO, Tamil Nadu and St Giuseppe Moscati Psycho-Social Rehabilitation Centre, Tamil Nadu. The social workers find it difficult to communicate due to language constraints. However, they are on the path to recovery, and we will now reunite the 25 patients with their families,” Dr Vatwani said.
Meanwhile, various organisations have planned a series of programmes in the city to create awareness about mental health on World Mental Health Day (October 10).
This year, the WHO theme is to make mental health and well-being a global priority. The Pune Metro Rail in association with Vidula Psychological Consultancy will conduct an awareness programme on facts related to mental health, Dr Mridula Apte, a clinical psychologist, who heads Vidula Psychological Consultancy said.
World failing to protect mental well-being of healthcare workers: new report
A new report by the Qatar Foundation, World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) found that at least a quarter of healthcare workers surveyed reported anxiety, depression and burnout symptoms. ‘Our duty of care’: A global call to action to protect the mental health of healthcare workers examines the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the healthcare workforce. It offers 10 policy actions as a framework for immediate follow-up by employers, organisations and policymakers.
The report found that 23-46 per cent of healthcare workers reported anxiety symptoms during the pandemic and 20-37 per cent experienced symptoms of depression.
At the same time, 41-52 per cent of healthcare workers experienced burnout during the pandemic, according to the report.
