Mental health review board to be formed up in every district

KOLKATA: In a bid to lay emphasis on the mental health of people in the post Covid scenario, the state Health department is set to strengthen the infrastructure to care for patients with mental health issues.

A mental health review board will be formed in every district.

The State Mental Health Authority (SMHA), which is the nodal agency to care for mental health care issues, has already held a meeting with the health officials and other stakeholders from various private agencies and NGOs to boost infrastructure.

It was decided that manpower would be increased and the mental health review board would take care of health related issues of patients in the districts.

Many top psychiatrists both from the government and private level will be roped in into the project.

Nursing professionals who have the experience of handling patients with various mental issues will be inducted along with the caregivers. People from legal services and various NGOs representatives will also be included as a part of the system.

It may be mentioned here that after the Covid pandemic broke out, many patients have come up with psychological issues. According to some studies, there was a major uptick in cases of depression and anxiety in the country.

A survey report suggested that over 40 per cent of people reported symptoms of anxiety or depression during the pandemic.

These numbers are alarming and similar trends are seen globally. Emotional issues like fear, mood swings, sadness, depression, anxiety and fear of the unknown, frustration affected people in large numbers.

Covid has caused depression, anxiety and other mental health problems among many patients.

Doctors have come across an increasing number of patients who need counselling as part of the treatment process. The fear of death and losing dear ones hascreated trauma among many people.

Health department has so far conducted around 4,85,592 tele-psychological counselling of patients, who reported various psychological issues in the pandemic situation. On an average basis, the state used to see 350-500 calls every day. The number has started going down now.