mental health workers

coronavirus

Bengaluru

Covid-19 positive patients

We teach them how to be productive, how to relax and to stay in touch with their relatives through video calls –An official

Counselling guidelines



200 districtare providing counselling and checking in on patients regularlyWith the grim reality ofbecoming more prominent in the state, citizens ofare understandably restless and confused. But the most affected are the ones who have tested positive for Covid-19 and are now in quarantine. To deal with this mental health crisis, around 200 district mental health workers are counselling patients and enabling them to undergo the isolation process. A total of 6,013 counselling sessions have been held across the state.The Department of Health and Family Welfare (DoHFW)commissioner even issued a circular to the all the district health and family welfare officers and mental health programme officers along with district mental health programme (DMHP) teams, district hospital mental health teams and medical college mental health teams to make an action plan on a daily basis regarding the activities to improve mental health that the people in home quarantine or isolation will undertake.A senior official from the mental health programme said, “Most of them will initially be anxious when the tests are given. They will worry whether they will get a negative or a positive report. Once the test results are announced, and if it is positive – they will get more anxious because they might fear that they have passed it on to their families or people in their community. They will also be anxious to know about the course of the illness, when they will get discharged, etc.”The official added, “Sometimes, they might experience disturbances in sleeping because of the new place and isolation from kith and kin. They feel most anxious during the initial two to three days and once they get the information about isolation and quarantine they understand that it is for their benefit and the benefit of their family.”Officers in the health department said many of them have expressed, especially, that they felt better after the counselling. Providing the right information has helped them.The official said, “We teach them relaxation techniques, how to spend a day productively and how they can be in touch with their relatives through video calls. They can also watch movies and do some exercises. These will gradually help them become better.”The commissioner in his circular lists all the guidelines which states that people in home quarantine or isolation should be educated and sensitised about common mental health problems so that they can seek help when needed.Psycho-social intervention teams will be constituted in all districts, along with district mental health program teams, in coordination with DSO, epidemiologists, microbiologists and already existing health helpline 104* All persons in quarantine or isolation should be contacted on a daily basis - DMHP teams should make the first call when in need and at least once in three days to everyone. DSO team should call everyone on a daily basis* Early identification of mental health issues among the home quarantined or isolated patients - children, adolescents, adults and elderly* Daily documentation of stigma, stress, distress, anxiety, sleep impairment, depression etc., and other psychiatric issues and number of calls received in the helpline number provided* Prescription of necessary mental health drugs through nearby PHC doctors and distribution medicines through health workers to the one that need it* Take measures so that old psychiatric patients get their regular medication to prevent relapse* Encourage them to be engaged through games, recreations, yoga, etc.* To procure necessary mental health drugs through DMHP funds or National Free Drugs funds or ARS funds if in need which should be planned well in advance