There are nearly 20 destitute patients in Ward 9 of General Hospital who are mentally ill. Instead of bringing them directly to the hospital, the police should obtain a magistrate’s certificate and admit them to Government Mental Hospital, Peroorkada, Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar has said.
He said he would speak to the Home Minister to streamline the process.
He was speaking to the press following a brief inspection of the ward on Friday.
On Wednesday night, a patient in the ward had turned violent and assaulted two fellow patients, resulting in the death of one.
“There is no shortage of food or other amenities, but overcrowding continues to be the biggest concern here. We have been transferring recovered patients to homes run by the Social Justice Department, but often they run out of space as well,” Mr. Sivakumar said.
It was difficult to trust privately run institutions, he said.
Among the patients here, many hailed from other districts (mostly Kollam and Pathanamthitta), and even neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
He said the Health Department would immediately look into the setting up of similar wards for the homeless in General Hospitals and taluk hospitals in these districts.
At present, Ward 9 of General Hospital accommodates 94 patients against its capacity of 44.
The Minister said there was space inside the hospital campus for expansion so the department would consider the possibility of extending the ward, thereby increasing its capacity.
Regarding Wednesday’s incident, he said the department would investigate whether there were security lapses on part of the staff here. K. Muraleedharan, MLA, was present for the inspection.
