Soon, emergency centre for mentally ill at five places, including Chennai

The ECRC would be led by doctors from the Institute of Mental Health in Chennai and more than 25 medical staff, including physiatrists, psychologists, nurses and other workers, would be deployed at the centre.

According to senior officials from the National Health Mission, there are five Emergency Care and Recovery Centres (ECRC) set up at Phase-I in Theni, Tirupur, Vellore, Villupuram and Tiruvannamalai districts. More than 150 mentally disturbed persons who were rescued from the streets have been treated and given emergency care at the five ECRCs that are functioning now.

The medical personnel at the ECRC would tie up with non-governmental organisations in the city that work towards the treatment and rehabilitation of the mentally disturbed patients. On being informed about the wandering persons, they would be brought to the centre after identification for treatment, officials said.

The doctors at IMH have been working towards reuniting these persons with their families after recovery. “Though language barrier is a problem when collecting the information from the patient, volunteers from non-governmental organisations help in collecting the personal information of the patient,” said Dr P Poorna Chandrika, director, Institute of Mental Health.

So far, more than 50 people brought to the ECRCs have been reunited with their families. “The aim of the ECRC is to ensure rehabilitation of the mentally disturbed patients. We can provide treatment to these patients even at the places where they stay. However, rehabilitation is possible only after they are brought to an ECRC and undergo recovery practices,” added Dr Poorna.