40 patients who need to stay in the hospital for more than two years have been moved to the home named ‘Saksham’
After waiting for five long years, the national capital has finally got its first operational halfway home for mentally ill patients. The home provides rehabilitation facility for long-stay patients, who require to be in the hospital for more than two years.
The newly-inaugurated home has been named ‘Saksham’ and, at present, 40 patients have been moved there. With well-furnished rooms that have beds and almirahs, the home is fully equipped with all the basic facilities for the inmates. The complex houses separate sections for men and women.
“All these people have been a part of our institute for more than two years now. We want them to feel at home. The complex has all the facilities for them, from common room to a garden. It was my dream to give shelter to these people. I am so happy to see them living in this house now,” Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences (IHBAS) Director Dr Nimesh Desai said.
The Delhi High Court had given directions to the government to establish such homes on March 12, 2009, after a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in this regard. Consequently, five such homes — three in Rohini, one in Dwarka and one in Narela were readied by 2012.
The government then gave the charge to run these five halfway homes to IHBAS, one of the Capital’s biggest hospitals for the mentally ill, located in Dilshad Garden. Although the structures were ready, the homes could not become operational.
Now, IHBAS has started its own home as a model experiment to provide facilities to those mentally ill patients who don’t have a family to go back to. “We all are one family here. These people have been staying in the campus with us and they deserve all the facilities,” Dr Desai added.
At present, mentally ill patients are sent to government-run homes such as Asha Kiran and Asha Jyoti. Doctors at Asha Kiran in Rohini, however, said these homes were equipped to cater to mentally challenged patients only. While mental illnesses can be cured, mentally challenged people have permanent impairment.
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