QUETTA: The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Balochistan’s health department will jointly set up psychiatric telemedicine centres for counselling and treatment of mentally ill prisoners in the province’s jails.

A consultative meeting held here on Sunday between officials of the health department and WHO reviewed various aspects for establishing the telemedicine centres for prisoners.

Dr Rubaba Buledi, parliamentary secretary for health, represented the Balochistan’s health department. WHO Representative Dr Asfandyar Sherani, Balochistan IG prisons Usman Ghani Siddique, Executive Director of the Institute of Psychiatry, Balochistan, Hazrat Ali and senior psychologist Dr Ghulam Rasool attended the meeting.

They discussed the feasibility of the project.

Dr Rubaba said that WHO and the health department would work together for treatment of prisoners suffering from mental health problems in Balochistan’s jails.

She said initially a pilot project would be launched in Quetta’s central jail.

She said a ward of Balochistan Institute of Psychiatry would be declared a sub-jail to keep the inmates suffering from psychiatric problems under extraordinary medical attention and regular observation. She said this would be the first public health project of its kind in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2021