Maharashtra to start 4 new courses in three regional hospitals

The initiative has been taken as part of the National Mental Health Mission with the aim of producing more specialists and filling vacancies in these hospitals.
Mental health is one of the biggest health problems in the country and there is a huge gap in the demand and availability of experts in this area of ​​specialized health care. Nearly 70 percent of the posts in Maharashtra’s four regional hospitals are currently vacant.

Data collected by the indian express reveal that of the nine sanctioned posts for psychiatrists at the Nagpur psychiatric hospital which receives at least 1,400 admissions a year, only three have been filled. However, the situation in Thane psychiatric hospital is the worst as, as of August this year, all eight psychiatrist posts were vacant.

To address the labor shortage, the state health department has decided to introduce courses for medical students on the management of mental illness. This includes diploma courses in psychiatric nursing, MD in psychiatry, M Phil courses in clinical psychology, and psychiatric social work.

According to data provided by the state health department, 16 students each would be selected for master’s courses in clinical psychology and psychiatric social work. A total of 40 students would be designated for BS in psychiatric nursing and another four for MD in psychiatry. Some of the courses have already started at the Pune psychiatric hospital.

“The current shortage of healthcare workers trained to provide mental health services will make it difficult to treat mental health problems for years to come, if the shortage is not addressed in time. So the need now is to increase the number of trained staff providing mental health services at all levels,” said Dr. Sadhana Tayade, director of health services.

As part of this project, these hospitals would become centers of excellence, focusing on building mental health teams, raising awareness and reducing stigma related to mental health problems, providing services for early detection, treatment of mental illness and collecting valuable data. .

“Just like other medical schools, these medical students would be training and at the same time also treating patients. This would immediately help to address the problem of the shortage of medical and semi-medical personnel. Ultimately, the project would create more mental health specialists,” said Dr. Purushottam Madavi, medical superintendent of the Nagpur psychiatric hospital.

In addition, under the bill, the government would assign separate staff for mental health management. The centers would also comprise a conference room, a main room and a staff room.