Focus on mental health helps in dealing corona
   Date :14-Aug-2020

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Staff Reporter :
 
Raipur ,
 
Chhattisgarh’s team of mental healthcare workers is working overtime to provide help to those in need. The State has seen an increase in mental health disorders following corona pandemic. Fear of infection, non-availability of basic amenities, loss of jobs, and financial insecurity were the primary causes of stress, anxiety obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), worsening of substance abuse, alcohol and tobacco use. Attempted suicides reported during this time were 1,382 with as many as 327 reported from Jangir-Champa alone followed by Baloda Bazar (3,516) and Dhamtari (1,726). These districts also account for a high migrant influx.
 
Each month more than 800 counselling sessions were held to pull these people out of self-harming mode. Close to 20,000 patients visited OPDs for mental healthcare service across State in April, May and June. The numbers were high in Dhamtari, Bilaspur, Rajnandgaon and Kawardha districts. The State Mental Health Hospital at Sendri (Bilaspur), Chhattisgarh’s only mental hospital, also saw an increase in the OPD visits between April and June with the numbers rising to 987, 1,292 and 1,555 respectively. Additionally, as many as 14,125 people in quarantine centres were examined and 13,715 counselled during this period. Of these, 967 were identified with clinical mental illnesses.
 
The largest number of sessions was held in districts where the migrant inflow was high. Responding to the need for skilling the mental health professionals to cope with the increase in the mental health disorders in the wake of pandemic, the Department of Health and Family Welfare got 69 counsellors and 34 Medical Officers virtually trained on Mental Health and Psychosocial on COVID-19 issues from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS). These were deputed as first line response team at District Hospitals. “We are using telemedicine technology for mental health patients, particularly for COVID-19 response.
 
Tele-consultation also empowered the primary care doctors to effectively deliver mental health services to the underserved population,’’ says Niharika Barik Singh, Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare. “Training of doctors on mental health is an ongoing process and we intend to provide basic mental healthcare services right at the Primary Health Centre level at the earliest as mandated under the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017,’’ Singh added. Those working on the ground found workload increasing all of a sudden. “Routine work was limited to OPD and some home visits.
 
Visits to quarantine centres became a full-time activity for us,’’ says Atit Rao, community nurse, based in Raigarh. “Our focus during counselling was on clients (migrants) immediate concern which were basic, medical and financial needs. We realised much of it was due to lack of authentic information. So, our foremost job was to explain to them why they were in quarantine, and why it was important for them in the long run and for the protection of their family members and loved ones,’’ Rao explains. However, he adds that coronavirus pandemic is a learning opportunity for all health workers. “One may not get the opportunity to witness this kind of a public health crisis for the next 100 years.’’ Many patients sought tele-consultation and called the helpline for advice.
 
The District Mental Health programme has been rolled out in 27 of the 28 districts with 26 district having fully functional tele-clinics. Chhattisgarh was already training its doctors on basic mental healthcare to ensure treatment right upto the village level. Under the Chhattisgarh Community Mental Healthcare Tele-mentoring Programme (CHaMP), the government has tied up with NIMHANS to train primary care doctors such as Medical Officers and Additional Medical Officers of Community Health Centres and Primary Health Centres.
 
 
The Medical Officers and counsellors, trained with support of NIMHANS-COVID-19, are identifying mental health issues, management and providing psychological support. “The training we had received helped us immensely in dealing with stress and anxiety among people. Breathlessness can be caused by anxiety also. People often mistake breathing issues as COVID-19 symptoms. Importantly, we also realised good communication was critical in dealing with stress and anxiety, and also stigma and discrimination,’’ says Dr Rakesh Premi, Nodal Officer, Mental Health, Baloda Bazaar.