Kuthiravattam mental health centre pins hopes on master plan

A major issue facing the facility is staff shortage, especially in the security section

The Government Mental Health Centre, Kozhikode, is one of the oldest such institutions in the region. | Photo Credit: K. Ragesh

Kuthiravattam is synonymous in popular culture with two things: the late versatile actor Pappu and the Government Mental Health Centre.

Set up in 1872 as the ‘Lunatic Asylum of Calicut’ to rehabilitate mentally ill men from the British Indian Army, the institution has been in the news of late for wrong reasons. At least five inmates have attempted to escape or escaped from the premises in just two weeks. A woman inmate from Maharashtra was found dead after an altercation with another inmate.

Subsequent visits by government officials, judicial officers as well as the Kerala State Human Rights Commission and the Kerala Women’s Commission have flagged lapses that should be corrected to put the house in order.

One of the main issues is staff shortage, especially in the security section. Sources said though there were 480 inmates at the centre, including 170 women, there are only four security staff to protect them. All of them are temporary workers. There are no women security guards at all.

Of the 314 permanent posts, 29 are vacant. They include nurses and nursing assistants. Though 30 attenders are required in the daily care of inmates, there are only 13. Around 10 staff will retire in the coming months. Interviews have been scheduled for Thursday after the Kerala High Court directed the Health department to urgently appoint at least eight security staff at the centre.

Another issue is poor infrastructure. The existing compound wall is not tall and strong enough. Many buildings are old and dilapidated, making it easy for inmates to tamper with them in their bid to escape. There are around 40 inmates who have been cured of illness, but are unable to go back because their families are reluctant to accept them. Of the total number of inmates, 180 are from other States, and the whereabouts of some of them are unclear.

A legislature panel that visited the institution in 2016 had recommended that more clerical and Grade-II staff, including four more security staff, be appointed.

The authorities are now pinning their hopes on the proposed ₹400-crore master plan to develop the institution into an institute of mental health. A trust was formed to implement the master plan. Though the plan was mooted many years ago, the approval process got delayed. A sum of ₹100 crore has been proposed for work to be taken up in the first phase. The outpatient department will get three floors. The existing OP section will be modernised. A 120-bed ward will come up in the place of the old structure next to the OP building. Right now, there are only 70 beds. An administrative block and a child psychiatry centre too have been proposed.

K.C. Ramesan, superintendent of the hospital, said a detailed project report (DPR) for the master plan had been submitted to the Kerala Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation (KITCO), which was earlier roped in as a consultant. Once KITCO approves the DPR, it will be submitted to the government for release of funds, he added.

Official sources said KITCO would examine if the DPR was in line with the specifications required for release of funds under the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). Once it approves the project, KIIFB will release funds.