Over 3,00,00,000 Indians are mentally ill!
Schizophrenia is a severe and complex mental illness wherein the
patient loses the ability to think, feel or behave in a normal way
Of the three crore mentally ill Indians, over 70 lakh suffer from
schizophrenia. The best approach to treating this disorder
comprises medical treatment, psychotherapy and social
rehabilitation, doctors say.
Dr. R. Thara, director of the Schizophrenia Research Foundation
(SCARF), an NGO in Chennai working in the field of schizophrenia
care and research since 1984. Apart from SCARF, there are no other
organisations in the country dealing exclusively with
schizophrenia. "There are only about 4,000 psychiatrists and
not enough hospital beds to treat such people. That is why the
focus now is on community care," Dr. Thara says.
"There are only 20,000 psychiatric beds (half of these are
occupied by long stay patients) in mental hospitals and another
5,000 in general hospitals. The number of rehabilitation
facilities are insignificant", Dr. Murthy says. "By the
best estimate, less than 10 per cent of those needing care are
getting professional care.
May 04 Read the full article at www.cybernoon.com/Displayarticle.asp?child=healthnews§ion=xtras&subsection=healthcheck
&xfile=may2004_healthnews_standard89
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