Can draft national health policy-2015 revamp mental health system in India?

Abstract

Mental Health is an indispensable dimension for human development. It deals with human thoughts and emotions, and provides a pathway for healthy minds and contributes to a healthy living. Absence of healthy mind poses a great burden to the economic, political, and social functioning of human beings, society and nation. Mental health in India is a neglected paradigm with the shortage of trained staff and inadequate infrastructure. Mental illness has been veiled in stigma, ignorance and superstition since a long time in India. Lack of political and administrative leadership, financial commitments and human resources, are missing in the national and expanded district programmes. Efforts have been put in recent times by the government to oversee the disease burden and provide remedial measures. Draft national health policy formulated in 2015 had thrown a light of hope in this scenario. The gap in the provision of efficient health care to the needy was the building block of this draft formulation.The hassles in the existing system should be identified and efforts to cut down the over-burdened system should be made to cater to the actual needs of the community.

Keywords

• mental health
• india
• health system
• draft national health policy
• way forward