the goan I network
MARGAO
Congress MLA Reginaldo Lourenco on Saturday has claimed that Manohar Parrikar government’s lethargy towards the implementation of the Mental Health Act 2007 has led to the torture of patients and patient’s suicides at the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour.
He has requested the Goa police, including the SP North and the police station in-charge of Agassaim police station, to carry out its work sincerely and register correct reasons that have led to the harassment and suicides of inmates at the institute.
Addressing the media, Lourenco pointed out that the sole objective of the 39-year old IPHB situated at Bambolim is to offer mental health services in preventive, curative and rehabilitative care, adding that patients from all over Goa visit this institute to take mental health treatment.
He, however, lamented that the IPHB today ceases to provide humane treatment to the patients admitted in the hospital. “Persons admitted in IPHB are physically tortured and mentally harassed. I am a regular visitor to the IPHB in order to inquire about the health status of people whom I know and to my utter disbelief I have seen patients trembling with fear as they are kept as prisoners,” he claimed.
He said the rooms/cells, where the patients are kept, are in unhygienic condition with bins and garbage bags lying around. “Similarly, the patients are not allowed to use mobile phones, and they are debarred from using emails. They are also prevented from going to the canteen and banned from eating food brought by relatives and friends. I saw this
during my visits to see a person from my constituency admitted in the hospital recently,” he added.
He pointed out that as mandated by the Mental Health Act 2017, no review board exists for patients to seek help for grievances. The absence of a review board also leads to patients being detained for prolonged periods which is nothing but a human rights violation, he stated.
