PUNE According to information received under the Right to Information Act (RTI) from the mental health department of the Government of Maharashtra, 184 private nursing homes have been registered in the state, with only four regional psychiatric hospitals in operation as of 14 of May.
Of the six divisions in Maharashtra, Pune, Konkan and Nagpur, the divisions have psychiatric hospitals. In contrast, Amravati, Aurangabad and Nashik divisions do not have a state psychiatric hospital, so 24 districts in the state depend on the 940-bed Nagpur psychiatric hospital. Incidentally, the Vidharbha and Marathwada region has the highest number of suicide cases and has puny mental health facilities.
Due to the severe shortage of mental health centers by the state government, the poor in these districts have no choice but to approach private mental health nursing homes. The majority of the population is extremely poor in these districts, so there is no choice but to live with their mental health condition or eventually commit suicide, experts say.
Activist Jeetendra Ghadge, ‘The Young Whistleblowers Foundation’ said: “With 18,916 deaths in 2019, Maharashtra recorded the highest number of suicides in the country and contributed 13.6% of the total number of suicides. These unprecedented figures demonstrate the serious mental health crisis that the state is going through when it comes to providing basic mental health care to its population. There is an urgent need for state mental health clinics in every district.”
Dr. Sadhana Tayade, state director of health services, was unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts.
Pune Regional Psychiatric Hospital has 2,540 beds, Thane has 1,850 beds and Ratnagiri has 365 beds, mainly in the western side of Maharashtra.
Although the government is aware of the mental health crisis, a new 100-bed hospital was recently opened in Beed, while a 365-bed psychiatric hospital is proposed in Jalna and another in Kolhapur. Experts, however, say that due to the usual government delays, these hospitals will take years to complete.
The information reflects the advantage taken by private psychiatric nursing home owners who have established their mental health nursing homes in almost all districts of Maharashtra. Unfortunately, they are too expensive for the poor and only provide services to those who can afford such nursing homes.
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