Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking – Tele-MANAS was launched across India on the occasion of World Mental Health Day,10th Oct 2022.
Importance of Mental health & Tele-MANAS
Mental Health and Wellness constitute an important part of human life. A Statistical Report by WHO states that about 322.48 million people suffer from depression every year worldwide. Moreover, more than 14% of them have so many mental disorders. This report also states that the majority of them are females.
Most health experts feel that mental health awareness camps can provide a positive impact on them. There are many criteria to address mental illness among these people namely, social inclusions, family member’s participation, treatment sensitization, etc. But most people are unaware of these mental awareness programs due to a lack of information.
Launch of Tele-MANAS
The country requires a digital mental health network that will always help people to overcome the issues faced by Covid-19, pandemic. To overcome these crises, the union government launched Tele-MANAS, which has been previously announced in the Union Budget 2022-23.
This mission is an initiative by Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot. This got launched during the NIMHANS,26th Convocation function by Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Dr.Mansukh Mandaviya.
The main objective of Tele-MANAS is to provide mental health services free of cost to people across the country. It works round the clock, particularly to help people in rural areas.
During the launching Ceremony, Karnataka Health minister, Dr.Sudhakar stated that ” It gives us immense pleasure to introduce this telemonitoring program. we will ensure that it will be a permanent system to provide good mental health for all people. The doctors from PHCs will be trained to treat both the mental and brain-related illness of the people.” He also said that one day in a week will be devoted to treating the people at Primary and Secondary Health Centres across the state. Some of the district-level mental health program initiatives are also discussed during the meeting.
The Central Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr.Mansukh Mandavya stated on his Twitter page that,” P.M Modiji’s Tele Mental Health Assistance and Network across states provides affordable mental healthcare services to people across every state/UT. This will always serve as a Digital Arm of the District Mental Health Programme.”
The Tele-MANAS starts with the support of nodal health centers namely the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru. The technological support is rendered by the centers namely the International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore (IIITB), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, and National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHRSC).
Tele-MANAS Consultation Mechanisms
Help will be provided by trained counselors from a particular locality if people call using the toll-free numbers 14416 and 1-800-91-4416. In case they need further assistance, the call will be transferred to online mental health specialists, psychiatrists, social workers, etc.
The entire process will take place in two tiers. Tier 1 includes trained mental health specialists and counselors as Tele-MANAS cells. Tier 2 includes some of the specialists in District Mental Health Programmes(DMHP). There is also an audio-visual consultation process provided by e-Sanjeevani.
At present, the government has introduced five regional coordination centers and Tele MANAS cells in 51 states/UTs.This system works on a centralized Interactive Voice Response system (IVRS) and is customized for all states/UTs.
This Tele-MANAS when linked with services such as National teleconsultation service, e-Sanjeevani, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, mental health professionals, Ayushman Bharat, provide specialized care to the users. This will definitely help to integrate and improve the entire mental healthcare system.
Tele -MANAS Training Centres
Overall training is given to 900 Tele MANAS counselors across India by the National Institute of Mental Health and NeuroSciences (NIMHANS).
Some of the institutes such as the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour, Bambolim, Goa, AIIMS, Patna; AIIMS, Raipur; Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi; AIIMS, Bhopal; AIIMS, Kalyani; AIIMS, Bhubaneswar; PGIMER, Chandigarh; Hospital for Mental Health, Ahmedabad provided training for those Tele MANAS counselors.
This program is launched in the following states namely, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Ladakh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.
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