Uttarakhand has just four psychiatrists against 28 sanctioned posts in state’s 13 district hospitals to serve a population of over one crore, a government response to a right to information application revealed. Of all the four psychiatrists, three are posted in a Dehradun hospital and one in Nainital; the remaining 11 district hospitals have no psychiatrists.
In June 2018, Uttarakhand high court directed the state government to provide “mental healthcare and treatment to all the persons with mental illness at an affordable cost, of good quality, available in sufficient quantity, accessible geographically and without any discrimination”. The HC had also directed the state government to open more mental healthcare establishments ``taking into consideration the large number of persons suffering from mental illness for their proper treatment, protection and care”.
“It is shocking that 11 districts do not have even a single psychiatrist. This will make access to mental healthcare difficult in the Himalayan state, where many people need help, especially during this Covid time which has aggravated mental ailments and affected mental healthcare”, Anoop Nautiyal, founder, SDC Foundation, which had filed the RTI, said.
Director general health, Uttarakhand, Tripti Bahuguna said efforts are on to improve mental healthcare in the state. “Some MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) doctors have been trained in basic psychiatry and more MBBS doctors will be trained in such courses to make up for the deficit. Also, State Mental Health Institute at Selaqui in Dehradun, the lone hospital for such patients with a capacity of nearly 40 beds, is being upgraded to 100 beds soon. We are also in the process of recruiting psychiatric doctors on a contractual basis”, she said.
{{/usCountry}}Director general health, Uttarakhand, Tripti Bahuguna said efforts are on to improve mental healthcare in the state. “Some MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) doctors have been trained in basic psychiatry and more MBBS doctors will be trained in such courses to make up for the deficit. Also, State Mental Health Institute at Selaqui in Dehradun, the lone hospital for such patients with a capacity of nearly 40 beds, is being upgraded to 100 beds soon. We are also in the process of recruiting psychiatric doctors on a contractual basis”, she said.
{{/usCountry}}The RTI has also revealed that in nine of the 13 districts, availability of specialist doctors is less than 50%, at a time when the country is preparing for the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Haridwar has only 40 specialist doctors against 105 posts.
“RTI data shows there is almost a 60% shortage in availability of child specialists and gynaecologists in the state. Accessibility is already a major challenge for women in hilly areas. Unavailability of female doctors will further exacerbate such issues,” said Rishabh Shrivastava, lead research and communications at SDC Foundation.
“We have found that a lot of specialist doctors have been deployed for administrative duties. This is completely unacceptable. Right now, we need the services of these doctors more than ever,” said Vidush Pandey, a researcher at SDC Foundation.