Govt must prioritise mental healthcare: Prez

President Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday that the government should prioritise human resource development in the field of mental healthcare while formulating policies.

Mukherjee was in the City to dedicate Nimhans  to the nation as an institute of national importance. Speaking on the occasion he said that healthcare is a positive contributor to the development of the country and there is an increasing realisation today that there is no ‘health’ without ‘mental health’.

While formulating policy, the government should always provide due priority to human resource development in the field of mental healthcare. “We need to devise innovative methods for enhancing the delivery of mental health care services,” he said. He added that it was important to address the stigma experienced by persons who are mentally ill.

A bill on mental healthcare is currently under consideration in Parliament and it seeks to provide legislative framework for standardised mental health services, he said. “I am glad to see that the National Mental Health Policy of the Government of India seeks to speedily integrate mental health care services into general health care as part of non-communicable disease,”  Mukherjee added.

He lauded the e-hospital and e-project programmes taken up by the institute. The first-ever National Mental Health Survey that Nimhans is undertaking is also a good step, he said.

The State government has granted 40 acres of land for Nimhans to develop its North campus. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah sought the co-operation of the Union government in developing this campus.  This would allow easy access to the institute for people in the surrounding areas, Siddaramaiah said. “Patients from across the country come to get treated in Nimhans. It has established a benchmark for quality education in neuro sciences and related subjects,” Siddaramaiah added.