A pilot project, named ‘Mental Health Thursday,’ was launched in Pudukottai district on Monday in an attempt to raise awareness on mental health and strengthen the services at the level of primary health centres.
The project was launched by Health Minister C.Vijaya Baskar during a function held at the old Government Hospital in Pudukottai where he also commissioned the mammogram equipment in the presence of Collector P. Uma Maheswari, Joint Director of Health M. Chandrasekaran and District Mental Health Officer R. Karthick Deivanayagam.
According to Dr. Deivanayagam, Thursdays would henceforth be observed as Mental Health Day at the PHCs in the district just as Tuesdays are termed as antenatal clinic days and Wednesdays are earmarked as immunisation days.
“There is a lot of hesitation to discuss mental health issues, given the stigma attached to it. The pilot project will seek to sensitise people and also drive home the importance of mental health by setting aside a day for it exclusively at the PHC level,” said Dr. Deivanayagam explaining the rationale behind the project.
Apart from regular sensitisation of field staff, information-education and communication (IEC) activities will be carried out at PHCs about the mental health programme. Screening camps would also be held on voluntary basis. The PHCs would also offer referral services and dispense psychotropic drugs to needy patients.
The PHC staff would be encouraged to act as village-level mental health ambassadors and medical officers would be encouraged to take responsibility of the mental health programme at the field-level with the guidance of a district psychiatrist. The programme would seek to include mental health in the agenda of day-to-day activities of PHCs and reduce the stigma attached to mental illness in the society, Dr. Deivanayagam told The Hindu.
A village-level mental health awareness committee will be formed under each PHC to sustain the project. It will have doctors, nurses, village nurses, public representatives, persons with mental illness, students of classes 9 to 12, college students, teachers, women, self help groups and representatives of other vulnerable groups as members.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Vijaya Baskar underlined the importance of the mental health programme. So far, 37 wandering mentally ill patients have been rescued and treated at the Annavasal Government Hospital in the district with the help of a voluntary organisation, he said. Steps were also being taken to reunite them with their families.
He also disclosed that steps would be taken to establish an AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) clinic at the old Government Headquarters Hospital.
Earlier, speaking after inaugurating a dialysis unit at the Illupur GH, Dr.V ijaya Baskar said the Health Department would take to the notice of the Chief Minister the need to ban rodetencides in paste form which are misused by people with suicidal tendencies. The State government, he said, was also taking steps to check suicidal tendencies among people.
The Minister also inaugurated a dialysis unit at the Tirumayam GH.