To improve mental health and addiction services in the State, the Haryana Health Department and PGIMER Chandigarh inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Friday.

Anil Vij, the minister of health, announced that the State′s mental health and drug addiction services had been strengthened thanks to a partnership between the health department and the department of psychiatry at PGIMER in Chandigarh. The telemental health clinic will initially be launched in Civil Hospital, AmbalaCantt, using a hub-and-spoke model.

Further, according to Vij, the Psychiatry Dept. PGI (Hub) will operate additional OPD services once a week, train doctors in psychiatry, and offer Tele Consultation Services for patients with challenging mental illnesses to identify and treat them at the Civil Hospital. Future plans include beginning the online training of physicians from other districts and gradually establishing more of these telemental health clinics around the State.

Dr Veena Singh, DGHS of Haryana, and Dr. Debashish Basu, HOD of Psychiatry, have signed the MoU on behalf of the director of PGIMER, Chandigarh. The MoU has a five-year expiration date. (ETHealthWorld September 10, 2022)