5 months ago
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NIMHANS connected Saturday marked the 50th day of the Sakalawara Community Mental Health Centre (SCMHC), recalling the improvement of 1 of India’s earliest community-based intelligence healthcare initiatives.
Established successful 1976, erstwhile intelligence wellness services successful the state were mostly municipality and institution-based, the Sakalawara centre was conceived arsenic a agrarian intelligence wellness facility. It aimed to instrumentality attraction of communities, experimentation with caller work and grooming models, and contributed to the improvement of the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP), which aboriginal became a cardinal constituent of nationalist intelligence healthcare successful India.
Expansion of centre
Over the years, the centre expanded from outpatient services and assemblage outreach to semipermanent rehabilitation and consolidated care. In caller years, it has adopted technology-enabled services, including tele-mental health, successful enactment with nationalist intelligence wellness priorities. During the COVID-19 period, services were continued done tele-enabled platforms.
The commemorative programme began with the inauguration of an accumulation documenting 5 decades of the centre’s work. Designed by the Department of Mental Health Education, NIMHANS, the accumulation traced cardinal milestones from 1976 onwards and highlighted the integration of work delivery, training, and nationalist engagement.
Buddhist links
On the occasion, a representation of Acharya Buddharakkhita, laminitis of the Maha Bodhi Society, who had established the Mahabodhi Rural Health and Service Centre astatine Sakalawara successful 1965, was unveiled. The centre was taken implicit by NIMHANS successful 1976.
As portion of the celebrations, India Post released a commemorative postal screen marking 50 years of the centre’s service. The NIMHANS besides released publications documenting the centre’s journey, including an anecdote book, a photograph book, and a brochure connected the services of the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services.
A recorded video connection from erstwhile Union Minister Karan Singh, who had laid the instauration chromatic of the Rural Mental Health Centre astatine Sakalawara successful 1976, was screened during the programme. Two documentary films tracing the centre’s evolution, outreach and rehabilitation enactment were besides released.
Addressing the gathering, speakers referred to the agelong relation betwixt NIMHANS and the Maha Bodhi Society and the centre’s publication to community-based intelligence healthcare. NIMHANS manager Pratima Murthy said the Golden Jubilee marked the sustained efforts of respective generations of professionals, staff, work users and assemblage partners who contributed to the centre’s work.
The programme concluded with a felicitation of retired module and erstwhile unit members, followed by a league of reminiscences by those associated with the centre crossed antithetic phases.
Apart from Dr Murthy, Bhikkhu Sugatananda, Secretary of the Maha Bodhi Society, Bengaluru, V. Tara, IPoS, Director, Postal Services, Bengaluru Headquarters Region, elder administrators, faculty, unit and erstwhile associates of the centre attended the event.
