Docs play healer in mental hospitals

HYDERABAD: Lack of qualified psychiatrists in the government service is resulting in doctors from other streams of medicine attending to the mentally-ill.
Further, the Mental Health Act, 1987, states that for every 10 beds there needs to be one qualified psychiatrist. If one goes by this stipulation, the sanctioned strength of these specialised doctors in government service falls short.
At the Government Hospital for Mental Care, Erragadda, of the 17 posts for doctors that have been filled, only nine of the doctors are qualified psychiatrists.
The rest have been filled by doctors who have specialised in other fields of medicine, including ENT and general medicine. Doctors with just an MBBS degree are forced to deal with psychiatric cases.
The hospital’s staff have to attend to over 300 out-patient cases a day and at any given time, there are about 400 in-patients. This hospital is the main referral centre for mental care in the state.
Going by the stipulations of the Act, the hospital needs at least 40 qualified psychiatrists taking into consideration the number of in-patients and bed strength.
According to hospital superintendent Dr K Krishnamurty, the shortage of qualified psychiatrists was being addressed by training doctors from other specialities, who have been posted to the hospital, for psychiatric care and management of patients.
These doctors are trained at camps organised at the district level and are also imparted on-the-job training. Another, 18 post-graduate medical students of the hospital are also rendering their services towards patient care.