Policy and Schemes
National Mental Health Policy 2014 (NMHP)
The Ministry of Health and family Welfare, Government of India announced the first National Mental Health Policy of India. This policy is an attempt to decrease the treatment gap, decrease burden and extent of disability due to mental illness. The policy takes in to account Indian Socio-cultural realities and is embedded in a value system that promotes integrated and evidence based care, governance and effective provision of quality services. Further it addresses needs of persons with mental illness, their care-providers and other stakeholders.
The vision of NMHP is to promote Mental Health, prevent mental illness, enable recovery from mental illness, promote destigmatization and desegregation and ensure socio-economic inclusion of persons affected by mental illness by providing accessible, affordable and quality health and social care to all persons through their life span, within a right based framework.
District Mental Health Program 12th plan guidelines
The District Mental Health Program (DMHP) is the flagship mental health intervention program of the Government of India as part of the National Mental Health Program. Starting with four districts in 1996-97, the program covered 123 districts in the XIth Five year Plan.
The program envisaged a decentralized community based approach to the problem including (I) training of the mental health team at the identified nodal institutes (ii) increasing awareness about mental health problems and effective health seeking patterns; (iii) adequate provision of services to promote early detection and treatment of mental illness in the community itself with both OPD and indoor treatment and appropriate follow up measures and (iv) collecting data and experience for future planning, research and improving service provision.
Mental Health Care Act 2017 and Related Articles
The Mental Health Care Act of India, 2017 (replacing the Mental Health Act, 1987 that was passed on 7 April 2017) describes it as “An Act to provide for mental healthcare and services for persons with mental illness and to protect, promote and fulfill the rights of such persons during delivery of mental healthcare and services and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”
The Act defines “mental illness” as a substantial disorder of thinking, mood, perception, orientation or memory that grossly impairs judgment, behaviour, capacity to recognize reality or ability to meet the ordinary demands of life, mental conditions associated with the abuse of alcohol and drugs. It does not include mental retardation, a condition of arrested or incomplete development, characterized by sub-normal intelligence. However, it states that mental illness will be determined in accordance with nationally or internationally accepted medical standards including the latest edition of the International Classification of Disease of the World Health Organization.
It provides for detailed description of Key Rights of persons with mental illness.
National Mental Health Survey of India, 2015 – 16
It is a national level representative mental health study to understand the burden and patterns of mental health problems, examine treatment gap, health care utilization patterns, disability and impact amongst those affected. NIMHANS, Bengaluru commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India undertook this one of the largest mental health “Research and Action” oriented study across 12 states of India.
This study provides major insights into the magnitude of problem and state of service and resources to strengthen mental health programmes. The comprehensive Mental Health Systems Assessment has brought out the strengths and weaknesses in the system of mental health care in the states.