PANAJI
The rigours of the pandemic has taken a toll on the adult as well as the minor population in the state, Health Minister said on Wednesday, adding that even concepts like ‘work from home’ were impacting mental health of individuals.“Today the concept of healthcare and even IPHB (Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour) gains a lot of importance because the pandemic has changed the thought process in today's time. The pandemic is something that has changed the mindset. You find children suffering from different types of problems in view of the pandemic,” HM said.
“Pandemic has virtually put so much pressure on the mental health of people... and a lot of people. It is not very easy to work online from home. People who are used to going out and working in different environments and suddenly you tell them and restrict them to four walls of the house. This has had a definite impact on not only the minds of adults, but also of the children,” HM said.
The Health Minister also said that the state government was in the last stages of working out of an association with the reputed Bengaluru-based Institute National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) to further improve mental health facilities in Goa like the state government’s IPHB.
“We are also in the process of tying up with NIMHANS, I have at least cleared the file from my side. I wanted this thing to happen during this tenure, so that NIMHANS should have an association with IPHB. Being the premier institute in mental health and wellbeing, we thought that this would help our institute grow and have a different type of recognition,” HM said.
