India has 47 Govt Mental Hospitals, including 3 Central Institutions: Health Ministry
New Delhi: Approval has been granted to implement the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) across 767 districts in India, with support provided to States and Union Territories through the National Health Mission (NHM).
Under the DMHP, Community Health Centres (CHC) and Primary Health Centres (PHC) offer a range of mental health services, including outpatient services, assessment, counselling/psychosocial interventions, continuous care and support for individuals suffering from severe mental disorders, medications, outreach services, and ambulance services.
Mental health services have been included in the comprehensive primary healthcare services package provided at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. As part of Ayushman Bharat, operational guidelines and training manuals for Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Disorders (MNS) have been issued for various cadres at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.
Under the Tertiary Care component of the NMHP, 25 'Centres of Excellence' have been sanctioned to provide tertiary-level treatment facilities and to expand postgraduate (PG) admissions across various mental health specialisations. Furthermore, the government has assisted 19 Government Medical Colleges/Institutions to strengthen 47 PG departments in mental health specialisations.
According to the MedicalBuyer media news report, there are 47 government mental hospitals in India, including three central mental health institutes: the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Bengaluru), the Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health (Tezpur, Assam), and the Central Institute of Psychiatry (Ranchi). Mental health services are also available at all AIIMS institutions.
The government launched the "National Tele-Mental Health Programme" (NTMHP) on October 10, 2022. This program serves as the digital wing of the 'District Mental Health Programme,' aiming to provide equitable, accessible, affordable, and quality mental healthcare to all through 24x7 tele-mental health consultation services. To this end, a toll-free number (14416) has been introduced across the country.
The government has also launched the 'Tele MANAS' mobile application on the occasion of World Mental Health Day – October 10, 2024. The government is also taking steps to integrate mental health services at the primary healthcare level.
The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Shri Prataprao Jadhav, stated this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
