Karnataka has hundreds of addiction elimination centers and mental health facilities. But many of them operate without sufficient facilities or professionals, often harming patients. The recently formed Karnataka State Mental Health Authority (KSMHA) is now developing a set of minimum standards for these facilities.
The authority has the power to close down establishments that do not comply with the regulations.
KSMHA is developing the standards as part of the state’s draft Mental Health Regulations, under the Mental Health Act of 2017.
A three-member committee, made up of the KSMHA, is drafting the Regulations now. The draft will then be reviewed by a 15-member committee headed by NIMHANS Director Dr. Pratima Murthy.
KSMHA will send the final draft to the state legislature in a couple of months, says Dr. Prashantha NR, KSMHA additional member secretary. Once the legislature passes the regulations, the authority can enforce them.
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Dr. Prashantha said, “Currently, we are granting provisional registration to mental health facilities. They will get permanent record only after they send us in writing that they have met the new standards. We will also carry out routine inspections to see if they comply with the rules.”
Such standards also existed earlier, as part of the State Mental Health Rules, 2012. This was under the previous Mental Health Act, 1987. Under that Act, the State Mental Health Authority did not have the power to take action against the breach. establishments Only the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of each district could do so. But DCs, with their multiple responsibilities, typically acted only to receive complaints from the public and rarely proactively identified illegal establishments.
Dr H Chandrashekar, Secretary Member of the previous State Authority, said: “Under the 1987 Act, DCs were the licensing and enforcement authorities. The State Mental Health Authority was just a regulatory body.”
Only about 250 establishments in Karnataka had been licensed under CDs at the time and there was no registration from some districts, such as Koppal, Dr Chandrashekar said.
He said there is a great need for the current KSMHA to take proactive action, given the large number of illegal installations.
He gave the example of an addiction elimination center in Bangalore that was run by ex-addicts, which was closed down by DC. “The center did not have qualified personnel, not even a nurse. It was previously a poultry farm and only had three toilets for 130 inhabitants,” he added.
“There is a huge demand for addiction removal facilities, but people are hesitant to go to government facilities. So there is a big scandal in illegal installations,” he said.
Nimhans Medical Superintendent Dr. Muralidharan K said the regulations are very important for inpatient facilities, especially in terms of care, sanitation, nutrition and experience.
However, no standards will be set for individual mental health professionals as the Act does not prescribe this, Dr Prashantha said.
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