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INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH TO BECOME AUTONOMOUS SOON

Posted on: 03/Jul/2010 8:15:38 AM

V.K. Subburaj Principal Secretary to Government of Tamilnadu,, Health was speaking on a national seminar on ‘Perspectives of Mental Illness in India` organised by The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health (BALM). He said that The Institute of Mental Health in Kilpauk, currently the only tertiary care mental health institution in the State, would soon become an autonomous institution, on the lines of the National Institute for Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore. The government order to the effect would be issued soon.  The institute will have a Director. The Institute will be nevertheless under direct monitoring of the Government. The Institute will have a separate budget and will have to get concurrence of the expenditures. The Health secretary further said that, orders had been issued for setting up a 250-bed hospital in Theni as a satellite centre for IMH. Applications have been invited from NGOs to take up and run 10 rehabilitation homes across the State, with Rs.10 lakh being offered per home.

Mr. Subburaj said. The DMHP had been implemented in 16 districts so far, and six districts will be added on later. A DMHP team had been formed in these 16 districts with a full complement of trained staff to take care of the mental health needs of the local people.  The objective of the institute being made autonomous is to make function more effectively

Telemedicine, she said, was a great leveller, cost effective and resulted in better utilisation of time. The Centre is now focussing on telemedicine and setting up projects in various parts of the country. Tele-psychiatry had also emerged as the most successful telemedicine application. Tamil Nadu has sufficient IT infrastructure to support telemedicine, Dr. Poongothai said.