Cuttack, Oct. 20: A PIL has sought intervention of Orissa High Court for establishment of a mental asylum for rehabilitation of “mentally retired” persons in the state.
Bishnu Prasad Das, 41, a resident of Mahakalpada in Kendrapada, has alleged that Orissa “lacks medical facilities for proper treatment and rehabilitation of mentally retired persons”.
“The Mental Health Institute under SCB Medical College in Cuttack has indoor and outdoor treatment facilities, but mainly for the psychiatric patients with active support from their family. The family has to provide two attendants for indoor treatment. The entire burden lies with the family. Unfortunately, no such facility is available for the mentally retired persons,” Das said.
“In Orissa, no rehabilitation centre or mental asylum is available for the mentally retired as in some other states,” the petition stated. The high court took up the PIL for hearing on Wednesday.
“The two-judge bench of Chief Justice V. Gopala Gowda and Justice B.N. Mohapatra directed secretary of the health and family welfare department to file a report within one week on the steps taken by the government for the mentally retired,” petitioner counsel Kali Prasanna Mishra told The Telegraph today.
“The bench further directed the high court registrar (administration) to monitor abandoned mentally ill persons roaming on the streets of Cuttack for their treatment and rehabilitation,” Mishra said.
According to the petition, psychiatric problem is like other health problem and it is a transitory one. It may be caused either by hypertension, depression or owing to high fever or related disease. It can be cured clinically either through medicine or shock treatment.
“But, mentally retired stage is the outcome of chronic and acute problems without proper treatment and care. Lack of proper treatment, care and social nourishment are responsible for making a patient mentally retired,” the petition stated.
“These people need long treatment, care and support. For this the family must have financial capability, manpower and strength. In many cases, they become extremely violent and it becomes unbearable for the family. As a result the family abandons them.”
“Hence, Orissa should provide proper treatment facilities for the patients who are wandering in the streets so that they live the rest of their life with dignity,” the PIL further sought direction for a mental asylum for the mentally retired in Orissa.
During the hearing, the court indicated that police stations should identify the mentally ill patients roaming in areas under their respective jurisdiction and produce before a magistrate for orders for their rehabilitation and treatment.
Official sources said the three medical college hospitals in Cuttack, Burla and Berhampur, along with Sishu Bhawan in Cuttack, combined together offer 110 beds against the demand of 1,500 beds for indoor treatment and treat around 32,000 outdoor patients a year. In the Mental Health Institute, at least 100 patients are accommodated in 60 beds and looked after by only one clinical unit. The Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar and the district headquarters hospitals at Balangir, Mayurbhanj and Koraput have facilities for outdoor treatment only, attending 20,000 mentally challenged people annually. In Orissa, more than 30 lakh suffer from psychological and allied diseases every year.
