Question : SHORTAGE OF PSYCHIATRISTS PSYCHOTHERAPISTS

(a) whether there is acute shortage of psychiatrists, psychotherapists and psychoanalysts in the country;

(b) if so, whether the Government has assessed the reasons therefore;

(c) if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the Government has conducted any survey to assess the population, specially adult population in the country who suffer from different types of mental illness and the requirement of specialists for treating psychiatric diseases;

(e) if so, the details thereof; and

(f) the steps taken or proposed to be taken by the Government to fill up the shortage of professionals/specialists?

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE (SMT. PANABAKA LAKSHMI)

(a) to (f) : There are over 3000 qualified psychiatrists, 500 clinical psychologists, 300 psychiatric social workers and about 600 trained psychiatric nurses in the country.

The effort of the Government is to diagnose the mentally ill patients at an early stage and treat them through the general health delivery system. For this purpose under the National Mental Health Programme, the General Duty Medical Officers are given short-term training in the field of psychiatry for handling cases of mental illness. The Government is also providing primary treatment to the common man through the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP). DMHP is presently implemented in 94 districts of the Country.

It is estimated that 5% of the population suffers from various psychological disorders such as depression, neurotics, stress related and adjustment disorders. About 1% of the population suffers from serious mental disorders such as psychotic disorders and 0.5% of the population may be in need of active treatment for serious mental disorder.