Expressing concern over the practice of stripping naked unhinged persons with acute suicidal tendencies and confining them in seclusion rooms of Mental Health Centres (MHCs) in the State, the Kerala High court directed the superintendents of three mental health centres to devise a suitable dress code for such patients in consultation with other doctors of the centres.
Justice K. Vinod Chandran directed the MHC superintendents to ensure that none of the patients, even those with acute suicidal tendencies, shall be put in seclusion rooms stripped naked, unless a very acute situation warrants it. In such a situation, it would have to be approved by a committee chaired by the superintendents and consisting of doctors, two psychiatrists, a physician.
The court directed the superintendents to issue specific orders on the dress code in a month and place a report in six weeks.
When a batch of writ petitions highlighting the plight of the mentally challenged persons placed in seclusion cells came up for hearing, the court directed the superintendents to stock sufficient number of dresses so prescribed in the respective mental health centres in a month after a decision was taken in this regard.
The court asked the district judges of Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, and Kozhikode, who are the chairmen of the monitoring committees of the respective districts, to verify the stocks.
The Psychiatric Society, Kerala, whose opinion was sought by the court, pointed out that the seclusion rooms in the MHCs were primitive and akin to prison cells. Kerala State Mental Heath Authority secretary D. Raju had emphasised the need for psychiatric intensive care units at the MHCs.
The court also asked the superintendents of MHCs, Thiruvanathapuram and Kozhikode, to get necessary inputs from the Thrissur MHC which had reportedly devised a dress code.
Directs the MHCs to ensure that patients are not confined to rooms stripped naked
