On World Mental Health Day, Kerala has reasons to cheer. At least for the districts in the north. The number of inpatients and those seeking follow-up treatment at the Government Medical Health Centre in Kozhikode, the only full-fledged government mental hospital in northern Kerala, has been on a decline from 2005 to 2011.
The figures were released in the preliminary report of the Community Mental Health Initiative under the National Rural Health Mission. As per the figures, the number of inpatients has reduced from 2,626 in 2005 to 1,827 in 2010 and further to 1,570 from January to October 2011. The number of inpatients had gone up from 1,825 to 2,626 from 2000 to 2005. But by 2006, the number declined to 2,553, further dipped to 2,185 in 2007, 2,083 in 2008, 1,863 in 2009 and to 1,827 in 2010.
The number of female inpatients has seen a fall from 689 in 2005 to 542 in 2010 and 477 by October 2011. Meanwhile, the number of male patients have declined from 1,936 to 1,285 in 2010 and to 1,093 from January to October 2011. As per the inpatient care expense calculated at 2009 standards, this has saved a sum of `35.5 lakh to the hospital in the inpatient category alone.
The number of follow-up patients has seen a stark decline. While the total number of follow-up outpatients was 31,802 in 2005, it declined to 24,162 in 2010 and to 19,068 from January to October 2011.
As per the report, the major reason for the reduction in numbers is attributed to the successful implementation of the decentralised mental health programme ‘Community Mental Health Program’ in all the northern districts of the state within this period. The programme was first launched in Wayanad district in June 2007. Later, it was extended to Kozhikode in November 2007, Malappuram in 2008 and Kasarkod in 2009. In Kannur, a parallel programme, the ‘District Mental Health Programme’ was introduced in 2007. As such, five of the eight districts which were the beneficiaries of the health programme belonged to the northern part of the state. The programme has now been sanctioned to the remaining districts in the state.
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