A no-brainer

The Supreme Court directive asking colleges to hire psychiatrists is the right step.

The Aman Kachroo case has prompted the Supreme Court of India to come down heavily on those who rag their juniors in an inhumane way. The court has also directed that all colleges hire psychiatrists so that students have access to timely counselling. With this directive, the Supreme Court has helped shine a light on the role of psychiatrists in safeguarding the country’s mental health. In fact several serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia surface during one’s teens and often go undetected.

Mental illness symptoms are often brushed off as teenage angst, only to resurface later as they remain untreated. Mental disorders are diagnosed on the basis of the following parameters: behaviour (alcoholism or any compulsive action like washing one’s hand too many times), feelings (major mood highs and lows), unusual thoughts (thinking without any evidence or proof that someone is trying to control your thoughts or kill you) or physical signs and symptoms.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in a recent report concluded that the morbidity from mental illness is likely to exceed that from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) by 2010. And, according to National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-sciences (NIMHANS), as many as 70 million Indians suffer from mental illnesses (serious as well as minor ailments). Contrast this staggering number with the fact that India has only a little over 4,000 psychiatrists. And as for psychologists and nursing staff, important for recovery and rehabilitation of those recovering from a mental illness, there are even fewer available. As for hospital beds, there are just 29,000, for 3.5 million people who may require hospitalisation for a mental illness.

Therefore, though no one will quibble with the fact that mental health professionals should be readily available to college students, the inadequate number of them may lead to problems in implementation. Under the UGC alone, according to 2008 figures, there are 20,677 colleges.

However, this directive may force the country and its future health minister to find ways to ensure that mental health is not ignored. The burden of mental illnesses is severe, as it takes away productive years not just from the patient who is suffering but also from caregivers. And India is still too poor to be able to afford this and lose a productive population due to sheer short-sightedness and neglect.