Shimla: Underling the necessity to build a credible mental health care system, Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary R.D. Dhiman said that mental health and well-being are the prime concern of modern society.
Dhiman, in a meeting on Mental Health and Mental Health Care Act, 2017 here on Saturday, said that good health and well-being are among the seventeen sustainable development goals for 2030 of United Nations Member States.
He stressed the need to deepen the value and commitment towards mental health as individuals, communities and policymakers. He said that social stigma also prevents early diagnosis and treatment. He appealed to the people not to fall in to grab of magical remedies and belief systems as it interferes with early diagnosis and treatment.
Principal Secretary Health Subhasish Panda detailed the current scenario of mental health in the State. He said that persons with mental health issues should never be ignored.
Rehab-cum-Chief Executive Officer Himachal Pradesh State Mental Health Authority Dr Sanjay Pathak said that the Act provides for mental healthcare and services for persons with mental illness and protects, promotes and fulfil the rights of such persons during the delivery of mental healthcare and services and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Prof. and Head Department of Psychiatry, IGMC Dr Dinesh Dutt Sharma said that mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.
