THE CHANGING FACETS OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE VIS A VIS THE NATIONAL

LOCKDOWN IN 2020

Pranoy Goswami.

The horrors of the coronavirus pandemic have been scarring for the global community as a
whole, if the surge in the death toll and the blips in economies worldwide are the merest
indication of the same. With demons of economic insecurities, food shortage and medical
exigencies at the forefront, the issue of mental health seems to be rushed under the carpet
mostly. Quintessential to the very human existence, a closer look at some basic facts in
relation to mental health can surprise and perhaps send lines of worries and trepidation on a
lot of people’s faces. As per the National Mental Health Survey conducted in India back in
2016, which was a year before the new Mental Health Care Act was brought into place, it
was revealed that close to 10.6 percent of India’s 1.3 billion strong and ever-growing
population suffers from mental health disorders of varying kinds. It further added that about
81 percent of such patients were far from the sanctum sanctorum of counselling, psychiatric
help or drug-induced medical treatment.

When the incumbent Modi-led BJP government introduced the Mental Health Care Act back
in 2017, his efforts were lauded. One of the most significant achievements in this regard was
the decriminalisation of suicide, which had been hotly debated earlier. Coupled with this, the
law also disparages the emphasis that was placed on institutionalisation of patients, with more
humane arguments placed for integrating people with mental disorders into our well-built
communities. Let us take a cursive glance at the state of affairs in the last 2-3 months.
Hospitals are working round the clock, no doubt. Sans any availability of public transport or
the restrictions imposed in states with green and orange zone districts, traveling is tedious for
patients afflicted with mental health issues, especially those from the suburbs and the interior
environs.

Another major problem in front of the patients is the very fact that the Government has been
bolstering the use of tele-medicines and online pharmacies instead of over-the-counter doses.
However, the catch lies in the fact that telemedicine prescriptions allow for a limited number
of psychiatric drugs and furthermore, a sizeable section from the rural poor has been seeing a
spike in the recent years, with mental health experts like Mrs. Ratnaboli Ray, one of the most
influential voices in Indian clinical psychology and founder of the NGO named ‘Anjali’,
suggesting a boom in mental health issues amongst the farming and artisan communities. The
World Health Organisation (WHO) had earlier predicted that by the year 2020, 200 million
Indians stand a chance of falling prey to some or the other form of mental illnesses. An ideal
scenario is the presence of three psychiatrists on an average for 100, 000 people, compared to
this statistic India face a shortage of grossly 19,000 doctors. Promises had been made galore
in the Mental Health Care Act of 2017 but for them to be realised, the 40 crore allocation by
the government as part of the union budget this year is miniscule to say the least. This is 0.06
percent of the proposed health budget of INR 62, 398 crores. The distribution of funds across
states was even more haphazard with only about INR 7.5 crore spent in entirety for the
success of the program. Such numbers paint a sorry and desolate picture.

Identifying PPP models to deal with the situation at hand can be a hands-on solution to the
nemesis. A PPP dynamic at a time when the nation is in the fourth phase of the lockdown
would require greater willingness on the part of the central and the state governments to let
private hospitals and psychiatric aid clinics take control of the situation. Introduction of toll-
free helplines ( 0804611007) are steps in the positive but need to be backed up with greater
access to psychiatric drugs through online forums. Better times and silver linings shall thus
step in hopefully.