KARACHI, June 20: The government of Sindh has constituted a board of visitors (BoV) that will periodically inspect psychiatric care facilities in public and private sectors, said a department source on Wednesday.

Such a board has been overdue for six years, since it was demanded under the provisions of the Mental Health Ordinance (MHO) 2001.

The seven-member BoV will be headed by Dr Ghous Mohammad, former judge of the Sindh High Court, as its chairperson while Dr Qazi Irshad of Civil Hospital Karachi will be the secretary/member.

According to the terms of reference notified by the government, the BoV may, at any time, enter and inspect any psychiatric care facility within its area of responsibility.

It may demand the production of any records or documents, and ensure that they are in proper order.

It will examine as far as possible every patient or mentally-disordered prisoner since its last visit to that facility, and may submit recommendations to the Federal Mental Health Authority (FMHA) and the government.

Furthermore, if required by the FMHA, the board of visitors can also visit any patient in order to investigate specific matters, such as the patient’s capacity to manage property affairs etc. The government’s terms of reference include a clause stipulating that when the BoV or its sub-committee visits a mentally-disordered prisoner, the Inspector-General of Prisons or his nominee will be present.

A member of the newly-constituted BoV, Prof Musarrat Hussain of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) said that the move will help protect the fundamental human rights of mentally-ill people, and ensure that such patients are not exploited by their caregivers. Furthermore, the BoV will also make formal assessments of the functions of psychiatric care facilities.

Referring to the proposed visits to jails, Prof Hussain said that there exists an urgent need to differentiate between criminality and mental illness.

The other members of the BoV are Dr Fateh Mohammad, former director-general of Health Services, Sindh, Dr Ishaq Sarhadi of the Government Lyari General Hospital, Shahid Seith of the Fatheh Group of Industries, Hyderabad, and the Director-General Health Services Sindh, Hyderabad.