Nimhans has earned the recognition of ‘Institute of National Importance’
National Institute of Mental Health
Bengaluru: The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans), which recently earned the recognition of ‘Institute of National Importance’, has worked relentlessly towards breaking all kinds of stigma with regard to mental illnesses by providing exemplary healthcare and advanced training to students.
The institute has joined three others in the country - All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, Post-graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh and Jawaharlal Institute of Post-graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, in getting this prestigious recognition.
The priority gradient adopted by Nimhans is service, manpower development and research. “Yearly we witness around four-and-half lakh patients, of which almost 70 per cent are from outside the State,” said Dr G.S. Uma Maheshwara Rao, Director in-charge. “We provide round-the-clock emergency services and some 170 patients are treated in the emergency services alone,” he added.
The Neurophysiology Department has obtained substantial funding from agencies such as Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), department of science and technology and Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) to carry out research.
The students have bagged prestigious recognitions such as INSA Young Scientist award for their research work. Scholars trained in Nimhans have found placements in leading laboratories of Europe and US. Dr Rao himself has published nearly 120 papers in international research publications.
Nimhans has 800 beds for psychiatry and 300 for neurology and neurosurgery. “In our drive towards being an Institute par excellence, we also have some 300 international publications to our name,” said Dr K Sekar, Professor Head of Dept of Psychiatric Social Work.
On an average around 500 patients approach the institute everyday and nearly 70 patients would be suffering from some form of schizophrenia. “The cause for schizophrenia is not known. Most patients have multiple causes. Some may be due to factors such as genetics, imbalance of brain chemistry, stress and negative family interaction, said Kannappa Setty of psychiatric social work department.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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