CHANDIGARH: In a significant push to bolster mental healthcare governance and ensure the protection of the rights of persons with mental illness, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab Government is in the process of empowering the State Mental Health Authority (SMHA).
This move by the Bhagwant Mann Government will ensure a broad framework for regulating mental health services, expand access to better mental healthcare across Punjab, and keep up the pace with the state’s flagship campaign against drug abuse, Yudh Nashean Virudh.
The State Mental Health Authority serves as the state’s apex statutory body that oversees and regulates the implementation of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017. It is responsible for registering and supervising mental health establishments, setting quality and service standards, registering specified mental health professionals, and advising the government on matters relating to mental health policy. At the same time, it will also ensure that the rights guaranteed under the Act are implemented.
The framework also includes Mental Health Review Boards (MHRBs) for districts. Each Board is chaired by a District Judge or eligible judicial officer and provides an independent mechanism for reviewing admissions and treatment decisions, hearing complaints and rights violations, reviewing advance directives and nominated representatives, and inspecting mental health establishments where required.
The Authority brings under one roof administrators and experts from various departments. As envisaged under the Act, it is chaired by the Principal Secretary of the Health Department. Apart from the Chairperson, other senior officials from health, medical education, and social welfare departments are also included. Currently, the state has nominated names for non-official members for the authority to ensure both administrative and community representation. The state is adding psychiatrists, persons representing persons with mental illness, caregivers, NGOs, and other key stakeholders to the Authority. This further strengthens the government’s mandate to make mental wellbeing and the fight against substance use a public movement.
The initiative assumes significance since Punjab is expanding its mental healthcare infrastructure at the district level through tele-mental health services, counselling initiatives, and community-based interventions. The expansion of its already existing mental health services has accelerated after its flagship campaign, Yudh Nashean Virudh, took off. The SMHA is expected to integrate these efforts under a robust regulatory framework while ensuring that patients receive care in accordance with nationally prescribed standards.
On this, Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh said, “Participation of community members in SMHA will help ensure even stronger safeguards for the autonomy, dignity, and legal rights of persons who suffer from mental illness, as envisioned under the Mental Healthcare Act, including those suffering from addiction.”
He added, “With the revitalization of the State Mental Health Authority, Punjab is prioritizing the creation of a patient-centric and rights-based mental healthcare system that is more accountable and capable of responding to the growing demand for mental health and deaddiction services across the state.”
