THANE: The sprawling 76-acre mental hospital here, the only state-run facility catering to Mumbai and its surrounding areas (MMR), is facing a shortage of doctors There are around 1,360 inmates at the institution and currently merely six doctors are available for treatment . The authorities said around 12 positions for doctors are vacant . Around 300 patients use the hospital outpatient department (OPD) wing.This means more than 200 patients are being treated by each doctor in the hospital. Mental health experts said ideally there should be one doctor for 100 patients.“Doctors have to make sure they keep tabs on the progress of patients every day. Also, one has to keep checking if the treatment is helping the patients, counsel the patients and even talk to their relatives. We have around 30 wards, which are divided into five units. Each unit needs at least two doctors, that is, a minimum of 10 doctors have to be there. We have written to the deputy director of health services to provide us with more doctors,” said Dr Sanjay Bodade, superintendent of the Thane hospital.The institution is facing pressure from outside too. Moves are afoot to use 14 acres of the hospital’s grounds for the proposed Kopri station. “The green belt around the institution will mostly be taken down. The verdant surroundings create a pleasant environment for inmates and the recovery process is hastened,” said an official.The poor doctor-patient ratio and resource allocation in public health is hampering and delaying treatment. Cases of schizophrenia, bipolar and other mental health disorders require adequate and experienced psychiatrists who can give time to their patients. But doctors at the hospital cribbed that when there are enough doctors, the average time they can spend on each patient is more than 10 minutes. In the present scenario, they get barely a minute to talk to and diagnose the patient.“It goes without saying that the quality of treatment is compromised. We have no option but to prioritize patients and check only those with acute mental health issues. For others, we ask the nurses and the social workers to keep tabs and inform if their condition worsens. Also, when a new patient comes in, at least an hour goes with that patient as we are not even aware of the medical history,” said Dr Ashish Pathak, psychiatrist, Thane mental hospital.The shortage is making a huge impact on treatment and the attention the inmates need. Officials said sometimes even patients who need the electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) cannot be attended to regularly, and this affects them, including many turning violent. Also, the process of reuniting treated patients with their families is almost at a standstill as the patients are not getting the mentally fit certificate needed as there is a delay in check-up.The situation in Thane is the worst among other state-run institutions in neighbouring districts. The other three hospitals in Pune, Nagpur, Ratnagiri are doing better, as far as staff is concerned. But they too claim that they have vacant posts and have to regularly ask the state health department to provide more doctors.

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