Towards better mental health infra
Two actors—both popular in their work spheres—ended their lives last week, sending the film fraternity in Odisha into mourning. Before the shock of television artist Rashmirekha Ojha’s death could sink in, the alleged suicide by versatile actor Raimohan Parida hit the industry like a ton of bricks. The Kolkata film industry recently passed through a similar crisis when three actors allegedly died by suicide within days of one another, while entertainment fraternities in others states have had their share of such tragedies, the most sensational being actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death that catapulted the whole issue into the spotlight.
Fairly untouched hitherto, the sudden uptick in suicides has not only rocked the Odia film industry but also flagged the critical issue of mental health. The entertainment and glamour business can be a high-pressure one. That Covid has not been kind is an understatement of sorts. But it is just not about one factor since the deluge of social, emotional, financial and existential uncertainty the pandemic has brought about has left every section of society grappling with its enormity. India has found itself wanting, thanks to the crippling shortage of trained manpower and support infrastructure.
There is a lack of an institutional set-up for counselling and preventive therapy. For Odisha, the situation is equally alarming in the face of a 21% rise in the incidence of suicide in one year, as per the NCRB 2020 report. When Covid hit, districts had to seek the support of non-profits for psycho-social counselling of patients with very little institutional help in existence. The SCB Medical College and Hospital, the state’s biggest public sector health facility, has just eight seats in the clinical psychology department, pointing to the problem at hand. But this is true for the entire country as well.
One set of data says India has just 0.3 mental health professionals per one lakh population. It has just about 9,000 practicing psychiatrists and barely 1,000 clinical psychologists. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently admitted in Lok Sabha about not maintaining any centralised data about the number of mental health professionals in India. Greater awareness to identify mental health issues at the family level is the need of the hour. Clearly, there is an urgent need to acknowledge the presence of the elephant in the room.