KARACHI, Oct 9: The general election on Thursday will take away the spotlight from the world mental health day which is observed every year on Oct 10.

Leading psychiatrists are of the opinion that the Mental Health Ordinance 2001, which replaced the outdated Lunacy Act 1912, still contains a large number of loopholes.

They observe that although the promulgation of a new ordinance on mental health is a welcome step, the government should have ensured that the ordinance was properly implemented. “The fact that a large number of measures envisaged in the ordinance have not been implemented at all proves that legislation without strengthening of the country’s health-care infrastructure is futile.”

This view of the psychiatrists is echoed in the latest report of the Human Right Commission of Pakistan, titled “State of Human Rights in 2001”, which says: “In an important step forward, a Mental Health Ordinance was introduced during the year. This indicated some improvement over the 1912 law. Implementation of the law’s provisions regarding the care of the millions suffering from mental illness and their institutionalization, when this became necessary, were however extremely poor.”

Senior psychiatrist Dr S. Haroon Ahmed said: “It is important to first look at the number of mental health patients in Pakistan. According to a World Health Organization report, in most developing countries, including Pakistan, the minimum number of people needing psychiatric attention is about 10 per cent of the total population. If psychosomatic disorders and epilepsy are included, this figure rises to over 35 per cent. Now compare this figure with the number of psychiatrists in the country. At the very most, there are 350 trained psychiatrists in Pakistan.”

Dr Haroon added that the health-care infrastructure from mental health patients had not improved adequately over the years. “At the time of the partition of the subcontinent there were 40 mental hospitals in India. Pakistan inherited two of them — the Lahore mental hospital established in 1840 has 1,400 beds and the other at Hyderabad was set up in 1850 with 450 beds which is now called Sir C.J. Institute of Psychiatry. In Peshawar the sick ward in prison grew into Government Mental Hospital with 140 beds. The only mental hospital added after partition was at Dudhial, Mansehra, 1964 with 100 beds.”

He said that there would have been no anomalies in the Mental Health Ordinance 2001 had the government consulted the psychiatrists and other stakeholders.

The government came under fire over Section 19 of the Mental Health Ordinance 2001 which gives a lot of arbitrary powers to the police.

Section 19 of the Mental Health 2001 reads: “If an officer in charge of a police station finds in a place to which the public have access, a person whom he has reason to believe, is suffering from a mental disorder and to be in immediate need of care or control the said officer may, if he thinks it necessary to do so in the interest of that person or for the protection other person, remove that person to a place of safety, which means only a government-run health facility, a government-run psychiatry facility, or hand him over to any suitable relative who is willing to temporarily receive the patient.

“A person removed to a place of safety under this section may be detained there for a period not exceeding 72 hours for the purpose of enabling him to be examined by a psychiatrist or his nominated medical officer and for making any necessary arrangements for his treatment or care.”

Psychiatrist Dr S. Ali Wasif of the Institute of Behavioural Sciences wondered how an SHO could find out if a person was suffering from mental illness. “This section of the Mental Health Ordinance 2001 could be used as a tool for oppression by the police in connivance with judicial magistrates, especially in rural areas.”