Ranchi, Oct. 22: Psychiatrists attending a daylong conference in Ranchi today called upon the government to formulate a mental health policy.

In Jharkhand, 11.1 per cent of 32 million-plus people are living with mental illness, higher than the national average of 10.6 per cent.

The conference on "Living with Mental Illness" was held at Central Institute of Psychiatry (CIP), Ranchi, by the state branch of Indian Psychiatric Society. Inaugurating the event, RIMS director the two mental healthcare hospitals in Ranchi - the mentally ill, a lot more needed to be done.

In a presentation titled "Burden of Mental Illness", Nishant Goyal, assistant professor of psychiatry, CIP, said while Jharkhand was yet to formulate a mental health policy, allocation of funds under this head was meagre. "Even availability of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and psychiatrist social workers in the state is dismal. Barely one psychiatrist is available per 2.20 lakh population in the state. The need is to frame a focused mental health policy and draw up extensive plans to address the triple burden of common mental disorders, substance use disorders and severe mental illness," he said.

The psychiatrists also privately admitted that Jharkhand has barely 100 doctors for mental care with nearly half of them posted at CIP and Rinpas, both located in Ranchi.

Since 2009, no fresh appointment has been made.