NEW DELHI: Mental health assistance helpline Tele-Manas, which was launched in 2022 to provide 24×7 services, has received 16.6 lakh calls since its inception. All states and UTs have started the service and have 53 functional cells, according to the health ministry.
An official said a dedicated Tele-Manas cell has also been established at the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune, to extend tele-mental health assistance and support to all armed forces personnel and their dependents.
The Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele-Manas) is organised as a two-tier system. Tier-1 comprises state Tele-Manas cells, which include trained counsellors and mental health specialists. Tier-2 has specialists of the district mental health programme, or medical college resources for physical consultation or eSanjeevani audio-visual consultation.
People can access the Tele-Manas helpline by dialling a toll-free number or short code. Based on level of care required, a counsellor will either provide care needed within their capabilities or refer the caller for specialist care.
A senior ministry official said video consultations in Tele-Manas are another upgrade to the already existing audio calling facility. “This facility has been launched in the states and UTs of Karnataka, J&K, and Tamil Nadu and will later be scaled up to the whole country,” the official added. India has only about 0.75 mental health professionals for every one lakh people when the standard guidelines suggest there should be at least three psychiatrists per one lakh population. Niti Aayog member (health) Dr V K Paul recently said that post-graduate medical seats in psychiatry need to be increased to augment the required manpower.
He also stressed on the need to train healthcare workers manning Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) to counsel people suffering from common mental health disorders and to know when to transfer a patient to a higher centre. “Anxiety, depression and sleep disturbance are some of the common mental health disorders. We need to equip AB-HWCs that are widespread across states to manage these common conditions,” Paul said.