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Maharashtra health dept directs districts to strengthen mental health programme under DMHP
The directions followed a Hindustan Times report published on September 6, 2026 titled ‘Maharashtra district hospitals lack psychiatric beds, patients forced to travel hundreds of kilometres’
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The state public health department has directed all districts to strengthen and effectively implement the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP). The focus is on expanding access to treatment, counselling, screening and follow-up services at government healthcare facilities, from district hospitals to primary health centres, officials said on Saturday.
The directions followed a Hindustan Times report published on September 6, 2026 titled ‘Maharashtra district hospitals lack psychiatric beds, patients forced to travel hundreds of kilometres’. The article highlighted the lack of functional 10-bed inpatient psychiatric units at the 32 state-run district hospitals. Patients with severe mental health conditions were forced to travel hundreds of kilometres for admission and treatment. The shortfall burdened the four regional mental hospitals (RMHs) in Pune, Thane, Nagpur and Ratnagiri, forcing families to travel long distances, incur higher costs, and face difficulty securing admission when patients’ conditions worsen.
According to officials, the directions were issued on September 23 directing deputy directors of health services, district civil surgeons and district health officers across the state. The department said the DMHP, implemented under the National Mental Health Programme since 1996, is aimed at making mental healthcare available closer to communities
A senior official, requesting anonymity, said, “The decision is important given the absence of functional inpatient facilities at district hospitals which has placed additional pressure on the four regional mental hospitals in Pune, Thane, Nagpur and Ratnagiri. Patients requiring admission are often referred to these facilities, forcing families to undertake long and costly journeys.
As per the orders, all districts must ensure services including outpatient and inpatient care, medicines, counselling and targeted interventions. Schools, colleges, offices, old-age homes and other community settings have also been identified for mental health awareness and intervention activities.
Currently, staff appointed under the DMHP programme—including psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric nurses and psychiatric social workers—were being utilized for other healthcare services in several districts instead of being dedicated to district-level mental healthcare. However, district healthcare facilities have now started to implement the orders, said Dr Shrinivas Kolod, Additional Director (mental health) and chief executive officer of the State Mental Health Authority, Maharashtra.
Kolod said District authorities have been asked to ensure screening, diagnosis, treatment, counselling, follow-up and referral services for people with mental health conditions. Special follow-up should be provided to patients with severe mental illness who may have been deprived of treatment.
“Awareness and case-finding activities should be undertaken through ASHA workers, ANMs, MPWs and other primary healthcare staff. The programme should focus on suicide prevention, substance-use prevention, child and adolescent mental health and community-based mental healthcare,” he said.
He further added, “Districts have been asked to prepare monthly reviews of DMHP activities and report administrative or other hurdles separately to the health department. The 24x7 Tele-MANAS helpline, 14416, should be promoted as an avenue for accessible mental health support. Four Tele-MANAS units are functioning in the state, including units linked to regional psychiatric facilities in Thane, Pune, Nagpur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.”
The four regional mental hospitals recorded about 2.29 lakh outpatient and inpatient patients in 2025-26, according to official figures cited in the earlier report. Nagpur recorded 73,208 patients, Pune 64,598, Thane 60,803 and Ratnagiri 30,489, said officials.
