CHENNAI: Health Secretary Supriya Sahu has written to the Director of Medical Education (DME) to prepare a proposal to convert the Institute of Mental Health into an organisation managed by a not-for-profit wholly government owned company, registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act. It is currently a government institution functioning under the DME. The secretary said this would ensure the government company setup has financial and administrative flexibility and gets the required expertise from the company’s board.
The letter dated October 23 and addressed to DME J Sangumani said the present organisational set up is not capable of handling the transformational change that is required at IMH. Several institutional reforms were necessary to ensure that IMH emerges as a premier institution providing ‘gold standards’ of care for its inmates and this will require a complete 360-degree transformation. Sahu also said she had examined in detail the organisational set up, fund allocation, fund utilisation, staff position, vacancies and assets available with the Institute of Mental Health, before coming to the conclusion.
“Given the fact that the institute has huge opportunities to raise resources from national and international organisations as well as corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, it needs a robust framework to mobilise resources. The institute also needs guidance from experts working in mental healthcare programmes, administrators and people with extensive knowledge in the field of treatment care, rehabilitation and integration of recovered patients with their families and communities,” she said, recalling the discussions held regarding improving facilities and living conditions of inpatients in the IMH. Sahu asked the DME to prepare a proposal and send it to the government for issue of a government order.