A beautiful mind: The terror of inner turmoil
With meagre facilities, province battles sharp surge in psychological disorders.
With meagre facilities, province battles sharp surge in psychological disorders. PHOTO: FILE
PESHAWAR:
The psychological scars of the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) are not healing with time.
Terrorism, target killing, unemployment and displacement are resulting in a sharp increase in the number of patients suffering from mental disorders, with only meagre resources to treat minds wracked by frequent sounds of gunshots and explosions.
According to data available with the health department, around 116,000 patients suffering from anxiety and depression were registered in the province from January to October 2013. The highest number was reported from Swat district, where 14,041 patients sought treatment.
Head of the Department of Psychiatry at Khyber Medical College, Dr Mohammad Sultan, however, said exact data on the number of people suffering from such disorders is not available in the province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). He claimed the figures were at least three times higher than the official number.
Citing an example, Dr Sultan said a recent survey in Chitral revealed 35 to 40% of the women in the district are suffering from one or more psychological disorder, and do not have access to proper treatment. He maintained as many as 95% of patients in K-P and Fata do not receive proper treatment while nearly 50% have no access altogether.
He said there is just one doctor for every 0.45 million patients in the country against one doctor for every 10,000 patients in the rest of the world.
Dr Sultan added there were only 40 specialist doctors to treat such patients in the province and they too were working in major cities. Furthermore, only four hospitals in the entire province provide facilities for treatment of mentally ill patients. These are Lady Reading Hospital, Khyber Teaching Hospital and Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar, and Ayub Teaching Hospital in Abbottabad.
Dr Sultan said medical practitioners were unfamiliar with modern methods of treatment and often lack the skills required to deal with patients.
Chalking the hike in mental illnesses up to terrorism, unemployment, target killings, kidnappings, family disputes and the displacement of people, Dr Sultan said the Mental Health Act was constituted to facilitate patients across the country, but has only been implemented in Sindh and Punjab.
He appealed to the provincial government to take the matter seriously, and extend funds to produce more health professionals and establish hospitals at tehsil and district levels.
He also suggested there should be a compulsory 100-mark exam in behavioral sciences at the pre-clinic level along with psychiatry papers in the 4th year of MBBS.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2014.
The psychological scars of the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) are not healing with time.
Terrorism, target killing, unemployment and displacement are resulting in a sharp increase in the number of patients suffering from mental disorders, with only meagre resources to treat minds wracked by frequent sounds of gunshots and explosions.
According to data available with the health department, around 116,000 patients suffering from anxiety and depression were registered in the province from January to October 2013. The highest number was reported from Swat district, where 14,041 patients sought treatment.
Head of the Department of Psychiatry at Khyber Medical College, Dr Mohammad Sultan, however, said exact data on the number of people suffering from such disorders is not available in the province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). He claimed the figures were at least three times higher than the official number.
Citing an example, Dr Sultan said a recent survey in Chitral revealed 35 to 40% of the women in the district are suffering from one or more psychological disorder, and do not have access to proper treatment. He maintained as many as 95% of patients in K-P and Fata do not receive proper treatment while nearly 50% have no access altogether.
He said there is just one doctor for every 0.45 million patients in the country against one doctor for every 10,000 patients in the rest of the world.
Dr Sultan added there were only 40 specialist doctors to treat such patients in the province and they too were working in major cities. Furthermore, only four hospitals in the entire province provide facilities for treatment of mentally ill patients. These are Lady Reading Hospital, Khyber Teaching Hospital and Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar, and Ayub Teaching Hospital in Abbottabad.
Dr Sultan said medical practitioners were unfamiliar with modern methods of treatment and often lack the skills required to deal with patients.
Chalking the hike in mental illnesses up to terrorism, unemployment, target killings, kidnappings, family disputes and the displacement of people, Dr Sultan said the Mental Health Act was constituted to facilitate patients across the country, but has only been implemented in Sindh and Punjab.
He appealed to the provincial government to take the matter seriously, and extend funds to produce more health professionals and establish hospitals at tehsil and district levels.
He also suggested there should be a compulsory 100-mark exam in behavioral sciences at the pre-clinic level along with psychiatry papers in the 4th year of MBBS.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2014.