Anjali rings in the new year ~ with this fabulous story of shedding Structural Stigma Govt of West Bengal finally implement Voluntary Discharge of Persons with Mental Illness Read on...... A Victory on her Own Terms Just a small signature needed. But she can’t do it herself. Someone from the family needs to do so. And this signature is all that stands between a recovered patient languishing at a mental hospital and home. Now, finally, recovered patients have won the battle to sign themselves out of mental hospitals, as per a landmark decision taken by the State Health Department. In most cases, family members of recovered patients are reluctant to sign them out of the mental hospitals and take them home. So these patients are visited less and less by family and the former have no option but wait to be released from the hospital even after full recovery. And the hospital authorities had no choice but to helplessly detain these patients. Lumbini Park Mental Hospital has now set the precedent of removing this obstacle between recovered patients and freedom by releasing a patient who submitted a request wishing to be released. The Health Department said, “The days of waiting for a merciful signature from a family member while an entire lifetime passes by, are over. From now on, recovered patients can sign themselves out of mental hospitals”. But what does the Law say? Director of Health Services, Dr. Biswaranjan Satpathy, said, “I have notified all mental hospitals in writing that this new rule is to be followed from now on”. In his opinion, it is inhuman for recovered patients to continue to live among those who are still recovering. It is possible that one’s family members are refusing to take responsibility. In that case, any other person can come forward to take responsibility and release the patient into his or her care. After the sudden demise of her husband Narendra Biswas, Mira Debi became mentally traumatized and was admitted into Lumbini Park Mental Hospital, Picnic Gardens, in 1995 by her family. After a few years, around the year 2000, Mira Debi made a full recovery. However, none of her family members showed any interest in taking her back home, as some allegedly say. Mira Debi’s son Mridul Biswas lives in Ajaynagar. Lumbini Park Superintendent Tapan Tikadar said, “We had been requesting Mridul babu for the longest time. But he refused to sign the release papers”. It was getting unbearable for 65 year old Mira Debi to rot away in a mental hospital 14 years after recovery. Finally, on 24 December, she wrote a letter to the Hospital Authorities requesting her release. Prior such requests were simply ignored by the Department. But this time round, they have taken a positive step and set a precedent. On 26 December, a Medical Board was convened, consisting of Lumbini Park Superintendent Tapan Tikadar and psychiatrists Gautam Bandopadhay, Ashok Mullick and Subrata Mullick. They found Mira Devi completely fit after reviewing her case history and related documents. After this assessment and without waiting for permission from the Biswas family, the State Health Department decided to release Mira Devi. The natural question that rises in this situation is where does a person go after spending 20 years in a hospital? Especially when no one from her family is eager to take her home… Tapan Tikadar informs that appropriate measures had been taken prior to her release. The organisation that had been working with the patients with the hospital’s permission had found a position for Mira Debi as a caretaker in the house of Paikpara resident Rupasree Roy. Speaking on behalf of this organisation, Sukla Das Barua said, “A written agreement has been made with Rupasree Devi regarding Mira Debi’s monthly salary and arrangements for her to visit the hospital for a check-up once a month”. Rupasree Devi has taken Mira Devi to her house on the day of her release, saying, “She will stay with me as a member of my family”. According to Dr. Satpathy, “The number of recovered patients languishing in the mental hospitals was increasing exponentially. This seemingly courageous step had to be taken eventually. Otherwise the hospitals wouldn’t be able to make space for new patients.” He added that since the law recognises the appeal of patients to be released, there was no problem. Mental Health activist Ratnaboli Ray explained, “Albeit late, but the process of ‘voluntary discharge’ of a patient has finally begun in mental hospitals. This is commendable. For a healthy patient to be stuck in a hospital simply because the family is not permitting release is unacceptable”. But why didn’t Mridul Biswas want to sign his mother’s release? “If I brought my mother back home, the others would have thrown me out of the house”, he said. Hearing this, Mira Devi’s face fell. With bowed head, she said, “I am happy that the health department has granted my request. From now on, strangers are my family”. Translated by Ayeshha Sinha from original Bangla report by Parijat Bandopadhyay published in Anandabazar Patrika
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 05:10:45 +0000