The dark side of mental illness: Kin abandon patients at hospital in Mumbai

A 60yearold Mumbaibased man has been living in the Regional Mental Hospital Thane for the past 10 years though he had recovered from bipolar disorder in 6 months His family has refused to take him back saying bringing him back may wreak havoc for them Unfortunately he is not a solitary case there are around 242 such patients at the hospital popularly known as Thane mental hospital whose families have abandoned themAnother 60yearold woman has been living in the hospital for 8 years as her familymdashhusband and childrenmdashchanged their address and contact number ldquoShe always asks us when her family will come and take her back home but they have changed the address and blocked our numbers let alone visit herrdquo said an attendant adding ldquoItrsquos really painful to see such patients who await for one call or one visit from their familiesrdquoAs per law mentalhospitals cannot discharge the patients even after recovery unless a family member authorises the same and takes the responsibility of the patient Currently the hospital has 909 patients of which 242 have been living there for over two years as their families refused to take them back citing various reasons Of these patients 65 have been there for over 20 years and are chronic and unable to communicate while 39 of them have been living there for between 10 and 20 yearsThe hospital providesfree stay to patients whose families cannot afford the treatment while those who can have to pay R22 per day rent to the hospital The rest including medicine gets covered as part of government grantsReasons for abandonmentldquoWe had patients whose families did not want to take them but the number has gone up during the pandemicrdquo said Ranjana Donode psychiatric social superintendent at the hospital ldquoFamilies who donrsquot want the patient change their address or block our contact numbers leaving them lying here for yearsrdquo she addedSatish Wagh another psychiatric social superintendent said ldquoWe have a 38yearold patient who was brought for bipolar disorder 8 years ago He worked for a security company and was the sole breadwinner But even as he has fully recovered now he is still in the hospital His family said that due to complaints from neighbours saying they do not want an lsquoinsanersquo person living in the neighbourhood they had to move twice and donrsquot want him anymore The patient now helps other inmates takes care of them Itrsquos really painful to see him living without his familyrdquoSwati Kulkarni another psychiatric social superintendent said ldquoMy experience tells me that nobody wants a mentally ill patient at their home Even if they are on medication and are capable of their daily chores the family avoids such members But the hospital is for treatment and recovery not to house them foreverrdquolsquoNeed a change in mindsetrsquoldquoMental illness is still considered taboo and comes with a stigma Hence once a person gets admitted to an institution most relatives donrsquot take them back People should understand mental illness can be cured in some cases and the patients can lead a normal life But there is a need for a change in mindset in the societyrdquo said Dr Netaji Mulik medical superintendent at the hospitalDr Harish Shetty a psychiatrist had moved the Bombay High Court in December 2021 highlighting the plight of patients admitted in institutions though they are not seriously mentally ill He cited the case of a woman who had languished in Regional Mental Hospital in Thane for 12 years The plea claimed that neither the womanrsquos husband nor her family was willing to accept her though her condition was stated to be normal and she was ready to be discharged in 2014 Admitted in 2009 she was finally discharged in 2021 after the recommendation of a courtappointed expert panelSome reasons cited by familiesgtgtCanrsquot afford patientrsquos expensesgtgtEmbarrassment due to patientrsquos presencegtgtFear that the patient might get aggressivegtgtTrouble from neighbours or society membersSome of the illnesses reported at the hospitalgtgtSchizophreniagtgtBipolar disordergtgtPolysubstance Drug AddictiongtgtFits with psychosisgtgtMental RetardationgtgtAnxietygtgtAlzheimerrsquos disease65No of patients living in the hospital for over 20 years