Mental Health Care Bill passed in Parliament

The parliament passed the Mental Health Care Bill 2016, that aims at providing healthcare services for mental illness and strengthening the individual rights of persons with mental illness. The Bill that was passed in Rajya Sabha in August last year, received approval from Lok Sabha on Monday.

One of the significant aspects of the Bill is decriminalization of suicide and recognising that the person is in need of mental health care. According to the Bill, every person has the right to access mental healthcare treatment from services run and funded by government. The Bill also has provision of free treatment for persons who are homeless or below poverty line, even if they do not possess BPL card. The Bill states every person has the right to receive treatment without any discrimination and right to confidentiality of their mental illness and treatment.

The Bill also mandates setting up of Central and State mental health authority and registration of every mental health institute and mental health professional such as mental health nurses, psychologists, psychiatric social workers, with the authority. (Find more details of the Bill here.)