Sanjeev K. Sharma
JAMMU, Feb 12: Number of abandoned insane people is on the rise in the city and the authorities concerned have no facility for proper medical treatment and rehabilitation of these people.
Shockingly, no department has any record of these people commonly noticed at almost every roadside in the city and elsewhere and there is also no Government scheme for curing their mental sickness owing to different reasons.
“We have Mental Health Scheme but the abandoned insane people are not included in it as it is a new scheme under which only OPD services are provided at district hospitals,” Dr. Renu Sharma, Director Health Services Jammu informed.
“Mostly the cases of depression and anxiety come to such OPDs,” she said.
When asked about mentally sick people abandoned by their family members, she said that Directorate of Health Services lack the required manpower needed for curing such people as they need special care with 24 hour attendants.
The Director Health Services further said that they can take responsibility for the treatment part of such insane people but rest is the job of Social Welfare Department (SWD).
She also said if SWD or some NGO brings such a person to them then they get him/her admitted at Psychiatric Diseases Hospital (PDH).
Dr Kirti Sharma, who has recently joined as Medical Superintendent of PDH when contacted said they only give medical treatment to such people and on completion of their treatment such people are sent to a rehab centre run by SWD where doctors from Psychiatric Diseases Hospital pay regular visits for proper and timely checkups of these people.
He further informed that main Problem with such patients is that they have no attendant.
“Our Medical Social Workers try their best to extract information from such abandoned people about their backgrounds and also these Workers respond to police investigations, if needed, but most of the insane people remain unable to give their details,” the Medical Superintendent said.
He added that patients with less problem visit OPD while there remains the problem of attendants for inpatients and isolation is needed for new comers as those already in hospital wards are very aggressive and their behaviour remains unpredictable.
Dr. Kirti Sharma further said that even there are limited number of isolation wards in the hospital.
“We also face problems as the case history of such patients remains unknown to us,” he maintained, adding: “If we come forward to treat these people they even don’t accept medicines and many of them not even accept that they have some sanity type problem. So we look towards social organizations to come forward in this regard.”
Dinesh Gupta, Secretary J&K Red Cross Society claimed that whenever they approach Psychiatric Diseases Hospital with such patients the latter demand attendants and that too round the clock.
“They have Nursing Orderlies and many similar staffers and they should engage them as attendants,” he said adding that no hospital accepts such abandoned people.
He further said if such people get timely treatment they may recover.
“All from Medical Superintendents to the Heads of Departments and the doctors appear helpless in different ways and demand round the clock attendants and none is ready to take responsibility of these poor people already abandoned by their owns,” Gupta maintained.
He said that even a doctor is not available for 24 hours then how an attendant is expected for this much of time.
“Honest conscience is required in this case rest there are many sources available today. People help insane persons and put videos on social media. What we needed here are dedicated and committed people,” he said.
When contacted District Social Welfare Office Jammu, Ajay Sallan said that Home for Mentally Cured Persons at Greater Kailash has been established by SWD recently which houses the cured insane people who only need medical help.
“Those who are abandoned by their relatives and family members and are homeless stay here and get all facilities like medicines, accommodation and good food,” he informed.
Sallan also said that staff at Home for Mentally Cured Persons is outsourced and there is a Manager, Superintendent, Helpers, Nurses in shifts, Security Guards, Cook, two attendants and more will be recruited when the need arises.
“Doctors from Psychiatric Diseases Hospital pays visit at the Home for Mentally Cured Persons for check-ups of inmates and presently we have only one inmate there as it (Home for Mentally Cured Persons) has been very recently started while there is a capacity to accommodate 25 persons,” he maintained.
However, defence and security experts said that proper records should be maintained for the insane people as they are found at many places and many times they even try to enter prohibited areas.
“Sometimes spies and anti-national elements may also pretend to be insane to gather vital information about security installations. Police should remain alert to such designs and entry of new insane persons in the city with extraordinary behavior etc should not be ignored,” they maintained.
A retired Army officer said, during his deployment at Nowshera they had captured one such person who was posing as insane but had collected record of troops’ movement in the area.
Former SSP Jammu, Tajinder Singh said there is no records of insane people in the city and their exact number.
“How can we ask an insane person such things as he can’t tell anything about himself?” he asked.
On wrong elements posing insane, he said that they check suspicious people but they have no method to say which insane is genuine and which-one is pretending to be that.
However, he said that police needs public cooperation on such elements.
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