Kerala Psychiatrists Demand Mental Health Policy Overhaul, Specialist-Led Hospitals
The Kerala branch of the Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS) has called on the state government to appoint psychiatrists as heads of government mental health centres and to formulate a new mental health policy aligned with the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017.
A delegation of psychiatrists met Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday and submitted a memorandum outlining key reforms needed in mental healthcare delivery, infrastructure, and governance.
The delegation argued that specialist institutions should be headed by specialists from the respective disciplines, noting that cancer centres are led by oncologists and cardiac institutes by cardiologists. They pointed out that some government mental health centres currently have superintendents who are not psychiatrists due to administrative arrangements under the cadre system. Appointing psychiatrists as superintendents, they said, would improve care quality and enable faster, patient-centred decision making.
The society also urged replacing Kerala's existing 2013 State Mental Health Policy with a new one that conforms to the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017. The proposed policy should be based on research-driven assessment of mental healthcare needs, identify gaps in service delivery, and link budget allocations to assessed needs and measurable outcomes. It should be periodically reviewed and updated, with continuous quality assurance of all mental health programmes, according to the memorandum.
Other demands included modernising psychiatric wards in district and taluk hospitals, expanding community mental health services, integrating mental healthcare into primary health centres, increasing funding for training and anti-stigma campaigns, and improving clinical infrastructure across the state.
The delegation was led by IPS general secretary Anees Ali and vice-president T. Sagar, along with members Rajmohan V., Mohan Sundaram, and Mohan Roy G.
Dr. Anees said the Chief Minister assured the delegation that the government would examine the recommendations and consider steps to strengthen mental healthcare policy and infrastructure in the state.
