NITI Aayog Member Dr VK Paul inaugurates National Workshop on Mental Health and Learnings from States and UTs
Announces merger of KIRAN Mental Health Rehabilitation Helpline
with TeleMANAS to optimize resources, enhance service quality, and address the
increasing demand for mental health support in India
Witnessing an exponential rise in service seekers, TeleMANAS has handled
6,75,000 calls since its launch in October 2022
Robust system of Ayushman Arogya Mandir can play a crucial role in redressing
mental health issues across the nation: Dr VK Paul
“Jan Andolan is the need of the hour to sensitize everyone on mental health”
Innovative ways including special education and proper care with treatment may
help in redressal of mental health issues related to children: Secretary,
Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities
Dr VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog inaugurated two-day
National Workshop on Mental Health, here today. The workshop aims to bring
together senior officers from all the states along with mentoring institutes
for TeleMANAS, marking a significant step towards addressing mental health
challenges in the nation. Dr. Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, Department of
Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities was also present.
On this occasion, Dr Paul
announced the merger of the KIRAN Mental Health Rehabilitation Helpline with
TeleMANAS. KIRAN Mental Health Rehabilitation Helpline has served over 1,27,390
callers since its establishment in September 2020 with Tele-Manas, the National
Tele Mental Health Helpline. Tele-Manas, launched by the Ministry of Health
& Family Welfare on World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2022, has
witnessed an exponential rise in service seekers and has since handled 6,75,000
calls. The merger between the two aims to optimize resources, enhance service
quality, and address the increasing demand for mental health support in India
by fostering a seamless transition and extensive public awareness about the
merger process. For the next three months, calls from KIRAN will be diverted to
TeleMANAS and eventually, the first helpline will be phased out.
Elated
with the merger of KIRAN Mental Health Rehabilitation Helpline with TeleMANAS,
Dr Paul said that “it will reduce the burden and help in reaching the concerned
persons with ease”.
Speaking
on the occasion, Dr VK Paul reiterated India’s commitment to the mental health
cause by bringing together all the stakeholders on one platform over a period
of two days through the workshop. He expressed confidence that the workshop
will churn out the best thoughts and leanings from all walks of life and help
in designing a robust healthcare system pertaining to the mental health issues
in the country.
Applauding the health care
professionals, especially frontline healthcare workers, he said that “this
workshop will be helpful in finding ways in redressing the mental health
related issues through network of well-developed primary healthcare centres,
the Ayushman Aarogya Mandir across the nation”. “The robust system of Ayushman
Arogya Mandir can play a crucial role and will be helpful in reaching to all
across the nation”, he added.
He also urged everyone to
come together on the mental health issues in the form of a ‘Jan Andolan’ in the
interest of making India a healthy nation. “Everone needs to be on board for
the cause be it Government, Community, NGO, Individuals etc. then this cause
can be won”, he said.
Dr Rajesh Aggarwal,
Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities said that
“innovative ways including special education and proper care with treatment may
help in redressal of mental health issues related to children”. He also
expressed gratitude to the Union Health Ministry for timely integration of
KIRAN Helpline with TeleMANAS.
On the occasion, three manuals namely Training Manual for
Implementation of Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 for Legal Aid Providers, for
Caregivers and Reference and for Mental Healthcare Professionals of Central
Mental Health Authority were released on this occasion. These manuals are meant
to serve as a vital resource aimed at simplifying the complexities of the
Mental Healthcare Act, 2017. These manuals are tailored for legal aid
providers, mental health practitioners, and caregivers and offer comprehensive
guidance on navigating the legal framework surrounding mental health care in
India.
The two-days’ workshop
encompassing several sessions will cover a wide range of topics, including
policy reviews, mindfulness sessions, integration of mental health in primary
and secondary healthcare, global best practice models, enhancing mental health
literacy, challenges, and the way forward in TeleMANAS, and the role of
Mentoring Institutes. The workshop will feature panel discussions moderated by
experts from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the World Health
Organization, providing a platform for sharing insights, experiences, and best
practices in mental health care.
LS Changsan, Additional
Secretary and Mission Director, MoHFW; Indrani Kaushal, Economic Advisor,
MoHFW; Dr Roderico H Ofrin, WHO Representative to India; Dr BN Gangadhar,
Chairman, National Medical Council; Dr Pratima Murthy, Director, NIMHANS and
senior officials from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and States/UTs as
well as Experts in the field of mental health were
also present on the occasion.