The Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (Jipmer) has launched the Union Health Ministry’s “TeleMANAS” (Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States) toll-free helpline offering counselling services for people in mental distress.
Initiating the service on the toll-free number 14416, Jipmer Director Rakesh Aggarwal said the institution would play the role of a mentor for Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had launched the toll-free mental health helpline 14416 (Tele-MANAS) last year, covering all States and Union Territories aiming to bridge the gap in access to mental health.
According to a press release, one in every 10 people is estimated to have a mental illness in India, with nearly 1% of the population suffering from severe forms of such illness. However, there was shortage of mental health experts in the country and access to their services was difficult and available mostly only in big cities. Most of the people with excessive worry, emotional outbursts, sleep disorders, performance issues, examination fear, and addiction did not know whom to turn for help. TeleMANAS is aimed at closing this access deficit and to bring about an improvement in quality of mental health services.
According to Dr. Aggarwal, Jipmer will first train a set of qualified counsellors, who in turn, are expected to train a large number of counsellors. These trained counsellors will serve as the first line of contact for people needing mental health services and their services would be available 24 hours a day and even on holidays.
They will attend to all calls to mental health helpline in areas under their jurisdiction, and provide answers to queries, give suggestions and provide counselling if needed. This will be beneficial to people staying in remote and rural places that lack mental health experts and act as a reliable source for consultation, counselling and referral to proper advanced facilities for those who may require them. Further, Jipmer will supervise the working of the programme and provide periodic retraining to counsellors, the Jipmer Director said.
The launch function was attended by Jipmer officials, including the Medical Superintendent, Dean Academic, Dean Research and Head of the Information Technology wing.
The importance of mental health as public health priority was emphasised on the occasion.
Jipmer said it was invested in the successful implementation of the landmark mental health programme that was expected to vastly improve the quality of services in the region.
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