Task force formed in Karnataka to assess mental health of doctors

BENGALURU: For doctors and healthcare workers, a patient’s recovery is their sole reward in a long and unending battle against a deadly virus. Deep down, they too have anxieties and worries for themself and their families.The uncertainty of the pandemic and little knowledge of the virus has taken a toll on the mental health of doctors and health workers, who have been in the forefront since the outbreak of the pandemic. So, to better understand and address them, the Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS) has formed a task force to create a database on the emotional and psychological issues of doctors.

The IPS task force - Dr for Drs - is headed by Arun Kandasamy, Additional Professor of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS). “Doctors are facing real-life issues. Uncertainty regarding the virus, its duration and management is at the core of the mental health of most doctors. Huge death loads and certifying deaths, inability to take in genuine patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) due to lack of beds, especially during the second wave, has had a huge effect on their mental health,” said Dr Kandasamy.

He added that while India may be exiting the current wave of the pandemic, mental health issues need to be addressed to prevent a long-term impact.Apart from the IPS, there are helplines for doctors and health workers to address their mental and psycho-social issues. The national helpline - 80-46110007 - launched by NIMHANS in March last year to provide psycho-social help to people in the wake of the pandemic, has a dedicated line (5) for doctors and health workers. 

Besides, NIMHANS and the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Karnataka Chapter, have created a dedicated programme - Vaidya Manovani -- under the ‘Dr to Drs’ - exclusively to address the mental health and psycho-social issues of doctors, said Dr K Sekar, head of the Centre for Disaster Management, NIMHANS.