Bhopal(Madhya Pradesh): There are just 7,000 psychiatrists over 140 crore population in India. So, there is acute shortage of psychiatrists for handling mental health care, according to chairperson of Stigma and Mental Health committee of SAARC Psychiatry Federation Dr Ruma Bhattacharya.
However, Madhya Pradesh will formulate policy to prevent suicides. Minister for medical education Vishvas Sarang said, “The department of medical education along with a team of psychiatrics will draft Suicide Prevention Policy.”
SAARC Psychiatric Federation (SPF) chief underlined the need for more psychiatrists and developing a support system to tackle mental health issues, which they said worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the eve of World Mental Health Day on Sunday, they said the problem has grown rapidly and Covid contributed in bringing the topic out of the closet.
Mental health problems have been growing rapidly over the last few decades, but our infrastructure has remained woefully inadequate, Dr Ruma added.
