Psychiatric Care Need of the Hour to Curb Suicides, Say Experts

Hyderabad: A recent report of the National Crime Record Bureau on suicides, wherein 543 students and 9,980 overall died by suicide in the state in 2022, has, again, shone the spotlight on the precarious nature of student life and a need to make accessible psychiatric help to prevent such incidents. The need for psychiatric care was also mentioned as the need of the hour by the Indian Psychiatric Society in its ninth mid-term conference on Monday, held on the theme ‘Establishing Psychiatric Services’. We have made this service mandatory in medical colleges as of late, we are seeing several students because of various pressures committing suicide.” Participants in the conference said that the Mental Health Act mandates scientific implementation of psychiatric care, which was not the norm earlier. These services can’t be given in regular hospitals even in the private sector, so obviously rehabilitation centres are mushrooming everywhere, and they are exploiting patients,” an expert said. With no regulatory mechanism, they are admitting patients just for the sake of money and just keep them at a designated place, because families want it and are ready to pay any amount of money.” “There is a need for medical institutions, especially medical colleges, to concentrate on improving psychiatric services.