When the WHO declared COVID-19 a Public health Emergency of international Concern on january 30, 2020, it released a parallel briefing to emphasise the need for mental health and psychosocial services during the pandemic. The briefing anticipated a rise in stress, anxiety, and fear people were afraid of falling ill with an infection that had no cure, of losing livelihood, and the isolation of lockdown. The WHO anticipated that societies would have to support their populations in a time of extreme uncertainty, not only with adequate essential services, but active counselling and support.
By late march, outpatient departments, including psychiatric outpatient departments of large institutions like the National Institute of Mental health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) in bengaluru, had to close. The lockdown took the country by surprise, and even though medicines were listed as essential services that would be available, and tele medicine was given new structured guidelines by march 26, institutions had to play catch up from their locations and context. In india, mental health institutions across the country had to ensure that the chronic mentally ill had access to medication especially people with severe mental disorders (SMDs) like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and even major depression. The system had to prepare both for the existing needs of persons with mental illness, and the anticipated need for increased psychological support of citizens, with uncertainty looming large about the economy and the spread of COVID-19.
click and follow Indiaherald WhatsApp channel