Region: Asia
Year: 1994
Court: Supreme Court
Health Topics: Hospitals, Mental health
Tags: Mental disorder, Mental illness, Mental institution, Public hospitals
The writ petition related to the malfunctioning of administration of the Gwalior Mansik Arogyashala (the Hospital).
On the issue of administration of the Hospital the Court held that a similar situation arose in the case of Rakesh Chandra Narayan v. State of Bihar (1988 (2) SCALE 965) wherein the Court had directed the Union Health Secretary, M.S.Dayal to submit a report (the Dayal Report) after investigating the allegations made against the hospital in Ranchi. In the aforesaid case the Court accepted the recommendations and the Ranchi Manasik Arogyashala Rules, 1994 laid down in the Dayal Report. Thus the Court in this case, approved the Gwalior Manasik Arogyashala Rules, 1994 (the Rules) identical to the rules made in the aforesaid case. The Court directed that ‘a similar autonomous body of Management shall be constituted by the State Government’.
As to the objective of the Rules the Court held that it would be for:
(a) Diagnostic and therapeutic facilities for mental patients;
(b) Social and occupational rehabilitation of mental patients;
(c) Professional and Para-professional training in the field of Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology, Psychiatric Social Work and Psychiatric Nursing;
(d) Expansion of mental health services at community level by providing training to medical and para medical personnel in the field; and
(e) Research in behavioural sciences.’
The Rules also prescribed free outdoor treatment for patients with a nominal fee for registration which may be laid down by the Committee of Management. With regard to indoor treatment it was to be not less than Rs. 200 per person per day.
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