Pabna Mental Hospital: Resources fall short for rehabilitation

Russel Hossain has been afflicted with mental health issues for a long time. The Dhulauri village native -- under Chatmohar upazila -- was admitted to Pabna Mental Hospital several times, to be released upon temporary recovery and admitted back again.

He is currently staying at the occupational therapy centre of the hospital. His days pass by playing cricket, table tennis, and weaving clothes.

"Nobody in my family supports me. Society has made me into an outcast," Russell told this correspondent recently. "But here, I get to work as a handicraft artist, and there are opportunities to make some money too."

Alok Kumar Das, who is in charge of the occupational therapy centre, said, "After recovering through medical and psychiatric treatment, the patients are brought here for occupational therapy, to help with their rehabilitation."

"We train them on handicraft, tailoring and other vocations, so that they can earn a living once they return home. A few of them are also given computer training," he added.

But due to a lack of resources, the hospital cannot afford to provide these essential facilities to all its patients.

Of the total admitted to the 500-bed health facility, only some 25 to 30 patients get the opportunity to access the facilities of the occupational therapy centre. "We are unable to accommodate more patients in the cane work and weaving centre, due to shortage of space and human resources," Alok confessed. "But we understand how important this could be for some of the patients."

Talking to this correspondent, hospital director Abul Bashar Md Asaduzzman said, "Out of 31 allotted posts for doctors, 18 remain vacant, meaning we're operating our 500-bed hospital with only 13 physicians. Besides, there are a lot of outdoor patients, who rely on these few doctors too."

Beyond just doctors, the hospital is not well-staffed in general. Out of its 643 posts, 198 are vacant, the official informed.

However, he claimed that they're trying their best to overcome the crises.

"We have a plan to expand the computer training centre and introduce more facilities so that we can train more patients and prepare them for the world outside," said Dr Bashar.

Amidst all this, a total of 4.35 lakh patients have taken treatment from the outdoor department in the last 10 years. 

A total of 16,171 patients were admitted to the oldest specialised mental health hospital in the country during this time, although this includes many cases of re-admission, hospital sources said.

Besides rehabilitation training, patients are also supposed to get the opportunity to play indoor and outdoor games and spend time at the hospital's park. But due to lack of maintenance, the playground and park are barely usable.

"I used to feel better when we could come out to play," said Md Salahuddin, a patient at the facility. "Even though the playground is not in any condition to play anymore, we still come here to spend time together. That's how much we like the place."

Asked, occupational therapy centre in-charge Alok said, "Maintenance workers often clean the ground, but it's done in such long intervals that it soon becomes unusable again."

Besides medical treatment, patients need psychiatric treatment and social support as well, according to Dr Masud Rana Sarkar, residential psychiatrist of the Pabna mental hospital.

"Engaging in multiple activities can help patients with their recovery," Dr Masud said.

"But it's also a must to remove social stigma surrounding mental health. If a patient gets support from the family and society after returning home, they tend to recover faster," he said, echoing the slogan for this year's world mental health day "Mental health care for all, let's make it a reality."