Mental health must be compulsory in medical curriculum: NHRC

New Delhi, July 24 (ANI): The National Human Rights Commission has called for urgent steps to address the issue of the rehabilitation of the mentally challenged persons requiring long stay in medical care.

Addressing the Western Region Review meeting on Mental Health in Pune today, the NHRC Member P.C. Sharma said the implementation of the commission's recommendations and those of the Supreme Court has been tardy and slow.

He said there are instances where patients have been found languishing in mental hospitals without rehabilitation and this neglect by the concerned authorities may amount to contempt of Supreme Court directions.

Sharma also said that there are only forty mental health centres in the country which are insignificant compared to growing incidence of mental health problems due to modern life with full of stress.

It is estimated that there are about two crore people in a country needing treatment for serious mental disorders and above 5 crore people suffer from other types of mental problems.

Citing lack of medical professionals in mental healthcare ,he said that this subject should be made a compulsory component of the medical curriculum in the country.

Sharma also said that research and development in mental healthcare has also not received the required urgency.

However, he lauded the efforts of NIMHANS, Bangalore, in this direction and said that every institution involved with mental health care must strengthen its own research and development facilities.

According to a NHRC release, this is the second review meeting on mental health organized by the National Human Rights Commission in the country.

The first review meeting was held for eastern region at RINPAS Ranchi on June 5 this year. (ANI)