KOZHIKODE: The recent conferment of the Dr P A Alexander Memorial Oration Award on Dr P N Suresh Kumar, professor, Department of Psychiatry, KMCT Medical College, Kozhikode, is another mark of achievement in his career.
The award, instituted by the IMA Academy of Medical Specialties, was given for his study on ‘Present Scenario of Suicide in Kerala.’ It revealed the alarming increase in suicide rates among women in the state. The award was presented to the doctor at the National South Zone Conference organised by the IMA Academy of Medical Specialities at the IMA Hall here on October 12.
In a career that has combined both academic and treatment excellence with social commitment, Dr P N Suresh Kumar has discharged his duties in areas of common diagnosis of inpatients, general psychiatry management, consultation-liaison psychiatry and psychotherapy. He was actively involved in inpatient management, outpatient service and emergency call duty.
The former director of the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) was a member of the International Collaborative Studies on the efficacy and tolerability of Aripiprazole in the treatment of adolescent schizophrenia, conducted by Otsuka Pharmaceuticals and also of another International Collaborative Studies on the efficacy and tolerability of Paliperidone Acetate in the treatment of bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia, conducted by Janssen-Cilag Pharmaceuticals.
The doctor has also rendered numerous services for the rehabilitation of mentally ill patients and also created public awareness programmes on mental illnesses. A Class A Trustee of Alcoholics Anonymous of Kerala (Non-alcoholic), he has also rendered his services to the training of non-psychiatrist medical officers and paramedical staff. Besides, he has also organised a number of suicide prevention clinics and community mental health camps in the rural hamlets of Malabar.
Dr Suresh Kumar is an executive committee member of the IMA. He has worked as the executive committee member of the Committee for Mental Health, formed by the IMA Kerala Chapter and as the secretary of the Kozhikode branch of the IMA Academy of Medical Specialities.
The winner of the 1991 Shantiniketan Mental Health Award instituted by the Association of Industrial Psychiatry Society of India for the ‘best scientific paper,’ he has been bestowed with an array of awards including the Florence Nichols Prize, Dr S S Jayaram Award, Dr G C Boral Award, Col Kirpal Singh Award, Poona Psychiatrists Association Award II, Dr Eapen Samuel Award, Poona Psychiatrists Association Award II, Social Awareness Kerala Award, Dr S S Jayaram Award, Indian Association of Private Psychiatry (IAPP) Award and the Dr V K Verma Award. The number of awards, which this psychiatric professor has won exceeds more than 24 in number.
He has also worked as lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry in Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha and the Kozhikode Government Medical Colleges.
Suresh Kumar, who passed MBBS from Thrissur Government Medical College, got MD in Psychiatry from the Central Institute of Psychiatry under the University of Ranchi and MRC Psychiatry from the Royal College of Psychiatry, London.
Besides earning a good name in academic circles, the physician is now actively engaged in addressing the woes of people with mental illnesses.
“The issues of such people still remain unnoticed as the authorities are least concerned about these problems,” says Suresh Kumar.
On the relevant features of his study on ‘Present Scenario of Suicide in Kerala,’ Suresh says, “Keralites are considered to be among the most sensitive people, who often resort to suicide when they face any crisis. The society with an upward trend in suicide rate demands due treatment. But unfortunately, the areas with high potency of suicide are far away from the services launched to prevent suicide,” he adds.
Intending to spread awareness about suicide and to bring down the number, Suresh Kumar, along with his co-fellows, are now running a suicide prevention centre named Thanal in Kozhikode.
