Bareilly: The affidavit recently submitted by the UP government in the Supreme Court for rehabilitation of cured inmates of mental hospitals has stated that district social welfare officer of Bareilly has got approval from chief medical officer and director of Bareilly mental hospital “for shifting 40 patients who have been treated with mental illness and now they can be transferred to rehabilitation centre.”
The affidavit said a committee under the chairmanship of the ACJM, NER, will give the final approval of the transfer of these people after doing the test recommended by the mental hospital. However, the director of mental hospital told TOI that only 10 patients who have recovered but have nowhere to go will be shifted to an old-age home.
Dr Pramila Gaur, director of mental hospital, Bareilly, said, “Our medical board has found only 10 inmates who have recovered from mental illness and have been abandoned by their families. These 10 inmates will be shifted to an old-age home after ACJM, NER, passes order in this connection.”
When contacted, chief medical officer Dr Vineet Shukla said, “I am not sure about the number of inmates to be shifted to old-age home. However, inmates who have recovered will be transferred to a rehabilitation centre so that they do not continue to live with mentally ill patients.”
The inmates will be transferred to an old-age home situated in Lal Phatak locality and it is being run on public-private partnership. The old age home will be the rehabilitation centre for cured patients who will be provided separate furniture, medicines, clothes and food by the organisation running the old age home.
According to the affidavit, the process of approval of the committee headed by ACJM, NER, is under process. The affidavit said that the “approval of transfer of 26 recovered inmates of Agra mental hospital is pending before chief judicial magistrate for which the CJM have further assured speedy approval.”
As UP government in their affidavit stated that the files relating to shifting of recovered inmates are under process in the court of ACJM in Bareilly and CJM in Agra, the Supreme Court on Nov 1 had directed registrar general of the Allahabad high court to submit their response to the charges levelled by the state before next date of hearing.
