The Karnataka Government will soon strengthen the 1,680 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in the state by appointing adequate neurologists and psychiatrists and is planning a scheme to provide health insurance for the poor including the mentally ill, to be in place by December 2005.

The State Government will also take immediate steps to set up mental health units in Haveri, Gadag, Bagalkot, Davangere, Charmajanagar, Udupi and Koppal districts, according to D Thangaraj, principal secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Karnataka.

The State’s PHCs are ill-equipped to provide care and treatment for mentally ill patients. The Mental Health Act, a progressive legislation that looks into the treatment of mentally ill patients, did not adequately deal with the many vital issues related to the mental health, stated SR Nayak, judge, Karnataka High Court.

The PHC, which is an important element in the provision of healthcare, did not have any services especially for mental healthcare. The PHCs were not developed to provide any treatment to mentally ill patients. Starting psychiatric units in government hospitals was not up to the desired level. There is a lack of infrastructure in the district mental hospitals in Hassan, Mandya, Dharwad, Mysore and Kolar, he stated.

On the Mental Health Act, there is a need for professionals in law and psychiatry to examine whether the Act, which was brought in force in 1998, had achieved its objective. He said doubts were being expressed on the usefulness of the Central and State Mental Health authorities created by the Act to function as a watchdog for assuring quality in the field of mental health.

According to Dr. D Nagaraj, director, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), there was an alarming gap in the treatment of mentally ill patient as only about 75 per cent of them were under treated. About 50 per cent of patients in Shimoga suffered from schizophrenia, according to a NIMHANS study. No reasons were attributed to the cause of the disorder. “The gap of no treatment was more because of a shortage of mental hospitals in the state. Only integrating PHCs with mental health care could reduce the gap. Hence, the Centre and State Governments should increase the number of rehabilitation centres, he averred.