Thiruvananthapuram: Days after the high court conducted an on-site inspection of the Govt Mental Health Centre at Oolampara, Peroorkada, and criticised its “prison-like” conditions and decades of neglect, health minister K Muraleedharan on Sunday announced a comprehensive master plan to modernise the psychiatric institution.The minister said the govt would address the hospital’s long-pending infrastructure and operational deficiencies through a phased revamp aimed at transforming it into a safer, more humane and patient-centric mental healthcare facility.As part of the plan, two hospital buildings that have remained incomplete for 22 years will be completed and commissioned at the earliest. Existing dilapidated buildings will also be renovated, while implementation of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, will be strengthened to create a more patient-friendly environment.
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Muraleedharan said adequate medicines would be procured based on the hospital’s requirements and new rehabilitation programmes introduced to help recovered patients reintegrate into society.To improve patient care, the government will fill vacancies and deploy additional personnel in key support services, including attendants, cooks, security staff and laundry workers.Patients who cooperate with hospital staff will also be allowed to spend more time outside the wards to enjoy the natural surroundings of the sprawling campus as part of efforts to improve their quality of life and recovery, the minister said.The govt will also reconstruct damaged portions of the compound wall, remove encroachments from the hospital premises and repair internal roads, many of which have become dilapidated, to improve security and accessibility.The announcement follows heightened judicial scrutiny of the institution. On July 18, a division bench of the high court comprising Justices Devan Ramachandran and Basant Balaji visited the hospital, inspected the wards, forensic block and other facilities, and interacted with officials, who highlighted severe infrastructure deficiencies, staff shortages and inadequate patient amenities.Following the inspection, the court described the conditions at the centre as deeply disturbing and akin to a prison despite attempts to spruce up the premises ahead of the visit.
