Medical officers get psychiatry training to address suicides

Jaipur: The state, accounting for 3.4% of the country's suicides, faces a critical shortage of psychiatric specialists in its hospitals. In response, the government has initiated a program to provide psychiatric training to medical officers. medical officers are undergoing specialised training in psychiatry, enabling them to offer essential mental health care services to patients in district hospitals and rural areas. This move aims to address the pressing need for mental health support in the state.“We are providing training to medical officers in psychiatry for strengthening services across the state for mental health,” said Dr Ravi Prakash Mathur, director (public health), health department. In 2023-24, at the state level, 195 medical officers were appointed as mental health officers. Training regarding mental health has been given through State Institute of Health & Family Welfare (SIHFW) Rajasthan. Apart from medical officers, nurses, accredited social health activists (ASHA) and other department workers at the district level are also being trained in psychiatry treatment.