Hello dear readers,
Welcome to another interesting and informative blog brought to you by Hranker.com. In today’s blog we are going to learn about Karnataka state mental health authority.
The Karnataka government has begun preparations to constitute a State Mental Health Authority. Approved by the Basavaraj Bommai-led cabinet on August 19, the authority is expected to oversee timely and efficient delivery of mental healthcare services to citizens in the state.
What prompted the government to do so?
There were widely reported mental health issues among the citizens especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. This pushed experts,including those from National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience(NIMHANS) in Bengaluru, to pressure the government to constitute an exclusive body to keep mental healthcare services provided in the state.
What will the authority do?
The Karnataka Mental Health Authority will be in charge of collating and publishing the list of psychologist, mental health nurses and psychiatric workers registered to work as mental health professionals.
This registry will be utilized to ensure that services are offered in time and in an efficient manner to the people in need across the state.
What will the authority consist of?
Going through the guidelines of the Mental Healthcare Act, the authority constituted at state level is likely to appoint the principal Secretary of Department of Health and Family Welfare as its head.
The Commissioner and joint Secretary of Health Department and Director of medical education will be included as members of the authority.
What is the status of formation of the authority in Karnataka?
The State Cabinet approved the Karnataka State Mental Healthcare Rules 2021 for implementing the Mental Healthcare Act and providing healthcare services for persons with mental illness and to protect, promote and fulfill the rights of such persons during delivery of mental healthcare and services.
On 19 August decisions taken at a Cabinet meeting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C.Madhuswamy said, under the rules a state mental health authority would be constituted.
With mental health services falling under goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the government focused on mental health issues during the pandemic. Counsellors Manning the free 104 helplines were trained to handle and cater to the needs of distressed persons during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sanitary napkins
Mr. Madhuswamy said that the cabinet has decided to distribute sanitary napkins to girl students of government and aided schools and colleges in Karnataka at a cost of 47 crore under the ‘Suchi’ programme of the Health and Family Welfare Department.
A decision was made to provide basic infrastructure and staff 2,859 subcenters of the health department at a cost of 478.91 crore.
A sum of 12.48 crore has been approved for construction of a Mini Vidhana Soudha at Alanda taluk in Kalaburagi District.
The Cabinet approved a 73.73 crore plan for solid waste management at Pachanadry in Mangaluru City Corporation limits, the Ministry said.
This brings us to the end of our blog. Hope you found this article informative. Stay tuned with us as we will be bringing to you many such interesting articles that will be helpful for you.
