All ears for your worries

KOCHI: While almost the entire healthcare system in and around Kochi is focused on checking the Covid spread, the district mental health programme (DMHP) is silently doing an equally important and strenuous job, giving comfort to the thousands of people who call them everyday to express their concerns about the pandemic. Currently, 272 counsellors --- including government officials and volunteers --- are working in the district to respond to the calls seeking advice.

District nodal officer Dr Soumya Raj T J told Express that the team had to get volunteers on board after realising that the government-appointed counsellors alone could not manage the flood of calls. Patients, those who are in isolation and relatives of those who lost their lives in the pandemic are also dialling the Direct Intervention System for Health Awareness (DISHA) helpline number, 1056.

“The number of calls crossed the 7,000-mark on some days and we had to include a few who completed graduation in psychology or who were in the final year of MSW course as volunteers. They are mainly assigned for reassurance calls,” Dr Soumya said.

When the counsellors feel that a caller is in need of a therapy session, that call is transferred to a team of psychologists or a psychiatric social worker (PSW). If the PSW thinks that a person needs the help of a psychiatrist, he/she will be directed to a psychiatrist for further treatment through the nodal officer. They will get the treatment through the telemedicine department. If a health worker is in distress, he/she can directly contact the district nodal officer. 

The nodal officer said almost all calls these days are related to Covid.“We get around 25-30 calls daily these days from people who are already suffering from depression and experiencing high levels of stress. If they need psychiatric treatment, they will also be connected with the team of psychiatrists in the telemedicine department, who will give the prescription,” she added.

How does a distressed person reach a counsellor?
The caller directly dials the DISHA helpline number, which is the same across the state. The calls will be then segregated into 14 districts and redirected to the counsellors in each district. The government-appointed counsellors, based at their nearby primary health centres or community health centres, attend the calls. 

The volunteers can be at their houses. The counsellors will be active from 9am to 4pm every day and whenever a patient is in need of urgent help. The PSW in Ernakulam can be reached at 9846996516.“Medical officers in the CFLTCs also call us when a patient is in need of psychiatric care. They also identify people staying alone and suffering from pandemic-related stress and refer them to us. Of the total calls attended a day, maybe 40 to 60 people are found to be in need of counselling,” Dr Soumya said.

TYPES OF CALLERS
Most of the callers are those who suffer from post-Covid issues, said the nodal officer. They get tense when breathing problems persist even after turning negative. Some have prolonged body pain, others have sleep disturbances. Some volunteers inform that all members turn positive in a family and two of them die, one feels helpless to disclose the bad news to the other member who is also positive. When there is a death in the family, people are not able to cope with the loss and call the helpline. Also, when their jobs are affected in the lockdown, people become anxious about their existence. Rarely, people complain about addiction to mobile phones.

Volunteers are welcome  to join
The District Mental Health Programme needs volunteers. Qualified hands, trained students or those who are in the final years of their graduation can join. There will be an orientation class for the volunteers on how to handle the callers --- how to talk, what to talk and what not to talk.