Participation in the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP)
– bringing care to the doorstep

The Banyan is planning to participate in the District Mental Health Programme launched by the Tamil Nadu government, which aims to address the shortage of adequate mental health facilities on community level. There are currently just 3 psychiatrists available per a population of 10 lakhs (1 million), and one hospital bed per 40 000 people, making psychiatric care accessible only to a very select population. DMHP is designed to facilitate a community based rehabilitation model as opposed to a centralised system, making psychiatric care more easily available in rural areas and bringing mental care facilities to the doorstep. The programme was piloted in Trichy in 1997, and is being extended to Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Theni and Kanyakumari in collaboration with the IMH.