Right to Mental Healthcare

We still do not have a broadbased ‘right to healthcare’ in India, but at least we do have the ‘right to mental health’. The new Mental Healthcare Act makes access to mental healthcare a right. This could improve services for people with mental illnesses. Dr Rahul Shidhaye, an Associate Professor at Public Health Foundation of India and heading its mental health division, says, “It is a progressive Act and a very strong legal instrument that can help improve mental health services in the country. As it provides access to mental healthcare as a right, it also means that the person concerned can take the government to court if appropriate services are not provided.” It also decriminalises suicide, which means people who attempted to kill themselves may now easily seek medical help without facing the trauma of a police probe. Then there is the provision of ‘advance directive’ whereby people, when healthy, can state in advance their preferences for treatment. One needs to observe how its application takes place as some psychiatrists may not be comfortable with it. Setting up mental health review boards could also open up the field to multiple stakeholders, which again may not go down well with some clinicians.