Considering the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological and emotional health of citizens, the Union government has announced a program ‘Tele Nacional de Salud Mental’ in this year’s Budget. The program will include 23 telemental health centers with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans) as the hub, while IIIT Bangalore will provide technology support.
Nimhans reported Friday that his goal is to establish the T-MANAS (Tele-Mental Health Assistance and Nationally Actionable Plan through States) initiative as a 24×7 facility in all states and Union Territories. His vision is to provide immediate mental health interventions for people with mental health problems, particularly those in remote and underserved areas of the country.
“The vision is also to link T-MANAS with existing in-person mental health services to provide comprehensive continuum of care by networking with the closest Centers of Excellence (COEs)/medical schools/district mental health programs/ specialized services spread throughout the length and breadth of the country,” said Nimhans.
Realizing the effect of the pandemic on mental health, he has crafted an innovative and contemporary strategy that will reach millions of Indians in a timely manner to alleviate their psychological and psychosocial distress. The mental health institute’s national helpline for psychosocial support received nearly 6 lakh calls during the pandemic.
“This proposal will also connect the primary health care delivery system, including primary health centers, health and wellness centers under Ayushman Bharat, provide linkages with communicable and non-communicable disease programs (there is unaddressed mental morbidity in conditions such as TB, HIV, Cancer, diabetes, etc). The involvement of state governments and COEs will also provide opportunities to make T-MANAS sustainable over time,” he said.
“T-MANAS will link with e-Sanjeevani and 104 services to increase capacity. It can be effectively linked with the e-MANAS platform that monitors the administrative aspects of the Mental Health Care Act and can be expanded to develop a national database for the provision of mental health care, a monitoring panel ( and be part of the National Digital Health Law). Mission). Research is also planned to determine the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and scope of this service,” the statement read.
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