The National Mental Health Programme (NMHP), which includes postpartum moms, was implemented by the government to improve mental health care, the Parliament was told on Wednesday.

Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur stated in response to a question in the Rajya Sabha that the NMHP’s District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) component has been approved for implementation in 767 districts, for which support is given to States/UTs through the National Health Mission.

Among the amenities provided by DMHP at the Community Health Centre (CHC) and Primary Health Centre (PHC) level are outpatient services, assessment, counseling/psycho-social interventions, ongoing care and support for people with serious mental illnesses, medications, outreach services, ambulance services, and more.

The minister added that there is also a ten-bed inpatient facility at the district level in addition to the aforementioned services.

To date, over 1. 83 lakh Primary Health Centers (PHCs) and Sub Health Centers (SHCs) have been converted into Ayushman Arogya Mandirs by the government.

According to Thakur, the Comprehensive Primary Health Care services provided at these Ayushman Arogya Mandirs now include mental health care as part of their service packages.

Under the aegis of Ayushman Bharat, operational procedures and training manuals for various cadres on Mental, Neurological, and substance use disorders (MNS) at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs have been published.

To improve student enrollment in postgraduate courses in mental health specializations and offer tertiary level treatment facilities, 25 Centers of Excellence have been approved under the tertiary care component of NMHP.

Moreover, the Government has funded 19 government medical colleges/institutions in order to improve 47 postgraduate departments in various mental health specialties.

The nation has 47 government-run mental hospitals, three of which are Central Mental Health Institutions: the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences in Bengaluru, the Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health in Tezpur, Assam, and the Central Institute of Psychiatry in Ranchi. In addition, every AIIMS offers mental health services.

To further enhance access to high-quality mental health therapy and care services in the nation, the government has also established a “National Tele Mental Health Program. “