SHILLONG: At least 45 inmates of the State run Meghalaya Institute of Mental Health and Neurological Sciences (MIMHANS) at Lawmali, Pasteur Hills, Shillong, are fit for discharge, but they are made to stay longer since the authorities have been unable to trace out their relatives and their places of origin.
During a visit to MIMHANS, it was revealed that there are many inmates who were cured of their mental illness, but they have been languishing in the hospital for years now due to various reasons, especially the difficulty in tracing out their families. “Around 25 males and 20 females are fit for discharge,” Psychiatrist of MIMHANS Dr. A.K. Roy told The Shillong Times.
The total number of inmates in MIMHANS is currently 91 with 55 males and 36 females.
Four under trails also are inmates of MIMHANS.
There are at least four patients from Bangladesh who are in normal condition and languishing in MIMHANS.
“We tried to send them back and sought police assistance in this regard. Police too tried, but Bangladesh is not accepting them without proper addresses,” an official with MIMHANS told this reporter during the recent visit to the hospital.
The Supreme Court had on July 18 issued notice to six states including Meghalaya on a PIL seeking discharge of more than 300 patients who have been cured of their mental ailments, but are still lodged in hospitals with those under treatment. The notices are returnable in six weeks.
Case of the homeless
Homeless people who roam around the city have flooded MIMHANS causing concerns.
Though the Supreme Court insisted that people, who have mental problems and hence roam around different places, should be admitted in the nearest mental hospital, the police, without proper verification, have resorted to sending whoever they find as roaming in city to the mental hospital.
During the visit to MIMHANS, the hospital authorities told The Shillong Times that his has resulted in a complicated situation since they have to admit the normal homeless people along with already admitted mental patients.
Since the State government does not have any shelter homes to admit beggars and the homeless, MIMHANS has become a safe haven for them since police continue to send such people to the hospital.
This has also brought additional burden for the hospital as the authorities have to search for their relatives to send them to their respective places of origin.
“One Prakash, who was homeless, was recently brought from Sadar police station, but we could trace out the relatives later,” an official with MIMHANS said.
The official rued that while the headache of the police is over after they hand over the homeless people to MIMHANS the Institute has no other choice than to keep them in the absence of any shelter homes in the State.
There are homeless people from Gujarat, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Maharashtra, West Bengal and other states who land up in Shillong and police take them to MIMHANS.
There are also inmates hailing from Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal languishing in the hospital.
The case of Bangladeshi politician Salahuddin Ahmed proves that though he was normal, he was sent to MIMHANS after he was found roaming somewhere in Polo by the police.
Though MIMHNS has the capacity to accommodate 130 patients, the authorities fear that if the flow of the homeless continues, there will be congestion in the near future.
“There are cases of people who come for work in Shillong from many other states and after they are brought by the contractors, they are never taken back. If police find them roaming in the city they are brought to MIMHANS,” the MIMHANS official said, citing a few examples.
MIMHANS had already written to the State government to set up shelter homes for such type of people.
Dr. T. Syngkon, Additional Superintendent of MIMHANS, said with the services of social workers, the relatives of the inmates who are cured of their illnesses are being traced out.
“The sorry state is that some patients do not know the names of their relatives and they also do not remember their native places,” Dr. Syngkon said.
As far as the homeless people are concerned, Dr. Syngkon suggested that the Social Welfare department should start a shelter home for the homeless to avoid any complications.
“Recently Neptune Foundation, an NGO from Mumbai, expressed a desire to take an inmate to hand over to the relatives and there are also a few cases of inmates who were handed over to the relatives with the help of a social worker who is assisting us,” Dr. Syngkon said.
No Neurosurgeon in MIMHANS
While a Neurology department with Neurosurgeon is essential for MIMHANS, the hospital has only two psychiatrists to treat the inmates.
In addition to the two psychiatrists, the service of at least two more psychiatrists is required to treat the patients.
Moreover, on an average, there are at least 70 patients who come to the OPD of the hospital.
Other concerns include shortage of medicines and short period of expiry of medicines.
President of Meghalaya United Women’s Welfare Organisation (MUWWO) Aruna Biswa, who also visited MIMHANS recently to pursue the pending issue of overall improvement of the hospital, apprised the authorities about the need to increase the food scale from the present Rs 35 per inmate per day.
The hospital authorities while admitting that only Rs 35 is fixed for food per day for every inmate, however, said some adjustments are made to ensure that the inmates get sufficient food.
Biswa also apprised the authorities to provide modern equipment, manpower and sufficient medicines to treat the inmates who are suffering from other illnesses as they are often referred to the Shillong civil hospital.
