The first meeting of the State Mental Health Authority (SMHA), formed under the Mental Healthcare Act 2017, is expected to be held shortly once the non-official members are nominated. The authority that serves as a regulatory body will discuss and frame rules and regulations as per the Act.

Tamil Nadu had established the new SMHA as mandated by the Act in January 2018. As of now, ex-officio members have been appointed. With the Principal Secretary (Health) as its chairperson, SMHA has about 15 to 20 members.

A senior official of the Health Department said the SMHA had been formed with official members, while applications that were received from non-official members were being examined by the State government.

“As per the Act, SMHA will register all mental health establishments in the government and private sector. Through this, we will know where the psychiatric hospitals and homes are situated in the State, and who are the mental health professionals such as clinical psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers. The authority will create the database and frame rules and regulations,” an official said.

Periodic inspections

The authority will monitor mental health establishments through periodic inspections, he added. “We are waiting for the meeting to be held to start registering mental health establishments,” he said.

Meanwhile, the process to form 13 District Mental Health Review Boards as mandated by the Act is under way. Officials said it was being examined by the government and the order for financial sanction for recruitment of members was being expected.

The purpose of the Mental Health Review Boards is to monitor involuntary admissions of patients. One board will cover two or three districts, depending on the number of homes in a district.