Thar providing sustained mental health support to locals

Whereas Sindh’s 20 out of 30 districts do not have mental health services provision, one of the most unprivileged districts, Tharparkar, has taken lead to initiate by providing sustained mental health services in the district through a network of the health workforce. This is being done for the first time in Pakistan which has touched the most sensitive and untouched health services areas and Tharparkar has taken the lead to launch it. This was announced by Sindh Mental Health Authority (SMHA) Chairman Senator Dr Karim Khawaja during a concluding ceremony of a 3-day training workshop on ‘Telehelp Services on Mental Health’ held here on Wednesday. “The services will connect mental health patients with health practitioners at various levels through a network of lady health workers working across Tharparkar villages” he said. Dr Khawaja said that is a multi-stakeholder partnership among the SMHA, Thar Foundation, Health department government of Sindh, Civil Hospital Mithi, Sir Cowasjee Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences Hyderabad and Liaquat University of Medical & Health Licenses (LUMHS). He said they would launch first-ever data on the state of mental health in Sindh next month which would reveal astonishing figures on the issue. “Mental health service is the least attentive area across Pakistan, which needs immediate attention. Currently, he added, Sindh’s 20 districts have no specialist physiatrists working in the public sector” he added. Dr Gordhan Das, district health officer (DHO) of Tharparkar, said this initiative will help to gather mental health trends on a regular basis and to curb the disturbing trend of increasing suicides in Tharparkar by providing proactive counselling/treatment services to identified patients. He said the health department will continue to provide its infrastructure and community health workforce for training and counselling services and provision of medicines and supplies to vulnerable patients.Mohsin Babbar of Thar Foundation said the spike in suicide cases in Thar led to this partnership which is aimed at providing free of cost psychiatric/counselling/treatment services, follow-up, free medicines to identify patients under a one-year pilot project utilizing the already working health workforce of the district. The Telehelp service will contribute by setting up counselling services in the local language through a trained health workforce and qualified practitioners, a mobile app for monitoring and reporting of vulnerable cases, and other logistical support and referring seriously ailing patients to district headquarters and Hyderabad if required. “SMHA is acting as a coordinating and lynchpin partner in the achievement of the aims of the project and has established Thar Telehealth health services connecting talukas of Thar with a panel of specialist psychiatrists,” he added. Dr. Gul Muneer Vistro, medical superintendent Civil Hospital Mithi said that Tharparkar was among very districts of Sindh where they had established a dedicated ward with a specialist providing dedicated healthcare services to 600 patients a month. Dr. Yousaf Kunbhar, the director of health services, Mirpurkhas region, assured the department’s full support to provide free medical aid to ailing patients. Tharparkar is considered as one of the districts of Sindh where cases of suicides are at the rise due to a variety of psychosocial and socioeconomic reasons, he said. Dr. Bharat Kumar, In Charge of Psychiatry Ward, said the increasing trend of suicides in the district warranted urgent attention as he dealt with very serious patients who had tendencies to attempt suicide. He was of the view that mental health patients needed to be treated at a very early stage adopting a modern approach so that they should not take the extreme steps of attempting and committing suicide. Mental Health experts Dr. Jamil Junejo and public health specialist Dr. Gulzar Usman also addressed trainees of the workshop and oriented them on how to handle ailing patients. At the end of the workshop, the chief guest of the workshop distributed certificates among the participating trainees.