HYDERABAD: The Sindh Human Rights Commission’s chairperson Iqbal Detho has stressed the need for expediting work on completion of under-construction facility for elderly care homes in Hyderabad.

He said during a visit to Sir Cowasjee Jehangir Institute of Psychiatry here on Wednesday that Sindh Senior Citizen Act 2014 (Amended 2023) mandated establishment of elderly care homes in each district of the province.

He said the under-construction facility in Hyderabad should be completed immediately to address long-term accommodation needs for recovered but displaced elderly patients.

He emphasised the importance of institutional coordination to mitigate vulnerabilities faced by individuals with mental illnesses and stressed urgency for multi-sectoral integration.

He directed the hospital leadership to initiate coordinated mechanisms involving relevant departments to ensure service continuity, patient rehabilitation and dignity-based care.

He proposed establishing a committee for management and integration to address persistent gaps and assured of SHRC’s continued technical support to foster a rights-based, inclusive and resilient mental health ecosystem across Sindh.

He was glad to see active engagement and speedy recovery of patients followed by introduction of music as therapy for mentally ill people that helped individuals with mental health conditions improve their emotional, cognitive and social well-being.

MS Dr Nisar Ahmed Soho presented a comprehensive overview of the challenges faced by the hospital mainly acute shortage of trained psychiatric staff, overstretched resources and presence of long-recovered female and elderly patients abandoned due to absence of guardianship.

Dr Soho highlighted critical needs including enhanced security support with shift-based police deployment and strategic interventions to manage the largest mental health facility in the province stretching over 50 acres and serving as a lifeline for Sindh’s mentally ill population.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2025