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The intelligence healthcare strategy successful Kerala’s authorities hospitals seems to beryllium successful the grip of a situation due to the fact that of a reported shortage of psychiatric societal workers, who play a important relation successful the psycho-social rehabilitation of patients.
Psychiatric societal workers are intelligence wellness professionals who supply therapy, negociate cases, and guarantee rehabilitation of radical with intelligence disorders. They person postgraduate degrees successful societal enactment (MSW) and an MPhil grade successful psychiatric societal enactment from a University Grants Commission-recognised university. Their occupation is important successful bridging the spread betwixt intelligence wellness attraction and the patient’s societal background. Apart from the valuation of the patient’s intelligence wellness condition, they besides get progressive successful aesculapian diagnosis, psycho-social therapy, and psycho-social rehabilitation.
According to authoritative sources, 8 of the 15 approved posts nether the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) are vacant. Three of the 4 posts attached to the Directorate of Medical Education are unfilled too. Between 2021 and 2025, lone 4 vacancies were reported to the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) for recruitment. The sources accidental that determination are nary impermanent arrangements to capable the vacancies astatine present. There are nary valid fertile lists nether the PSC arsenic well.
Meanwhile, the State authorities is yet to marque changes to the qualification criteria of psychiatric societal workers successful enactment with the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, arsenic directed by the Kerala Administrative Tribunal, 2021. The PSC’s recruitment process has been stalled due to the fact that the changed qualification criteria person not been officially notified.
K.V. Binumon, a psychiatric societal idiosyncratic who works with the State government’s ‘Vimukthi’ de-addiction project, claims that these intelligence wellness professionals are facing wage disparity too. “Along with psychiatrists and objective psychologists, our relation is arsenic important successful the intelligence healthcare system. Despite having a two-year MPhil grade equivalent to that of objective psychologists, we look wage discrimination. The superior crushed for this disparity is the unscientific qualification criteria acceptable by the PSC. At present, the rules let candidates with a basal MSW, oregon adjacent an MSc successful Psychology oregon Sociology, to use for the post. Because of this anomaly, highly qualified professionals holding an MPhil successful Psychiatric Social Work, employed connected a imperishable oregon declaration ground successful the DHS and DME, are unjustly forced to enactment for a overmuch little wage than that of objective psychologists,” helium says.
