Mental Health Unit in Kalmunai hospital opened

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 April 2006, 11:44 GMT]
Dr.V.Jeganathan, North East Health Services Development Advisor to the Ministry of Health, Monday morning declared open the Mental Health Unit (MHU) in the Kalmunai Base Hospital. The MHU was constructed at a cost of 1.6 million rupees to provide counseling and psychiatric treatment to mentally affected Muslim and Tamil people from Neelavani to Pottuvil covering Tamil and Muslim villages in the coastal areas in the Amparai district, sources said.

Dr.M.Ganeshan, Consultant Psychiatrist in the eastern province said about one thousand mentally affected people from the coastal villages are attending a weekly mental clinic. With the opening of the MHU seriously ill mental patients could be warded and be attended to their problems by consultant physicians.

The MHU was opened in Kalmunai hospital under a project funded by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is designed to open mental health unit in every hospital in the North East on district basis, sources said.

Kalmunai MHU consists six wards- six for male and six for female patients.

Dr.K.Muruganandan, Medical Superintendent of the Kalmunai base hospital presided over the event. Dr Ms Kumuthini Thurairatnam has been appointed officer-in-charge of the MHU, sources said.