Health Minister inaugurates second Tele-Manas helpline center at IMH in Kilpauk
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramaniam on Tuesday inaugurated the second center of 14416 Tele-Manas mental health helpline at the Institute of Mental Health in Kilpauk.
Nearly 40,000 people have benefited from the Tele-Manas helpline since its launch in October 2022, including about 70 per cent of people in the 18-40 year age group.
Health Minister Ma Subramanian said the helpline has been used mainly by youth and depression, anxiety, relationship issues and others are some of the common issues being raised by them.
“Tamil Nadu has seen higher usage of the nationwide Tele-Manas helpline compared to other states and the Union Health Ministry has appreciated the government for this. In the second phase, the center has been set up at a mental health institute.” Which will include a team of 25 psychologists and psychiatrists, 18 postgraduate students, 54 psychology postgraduates, 3 psychiatrists and 10 psychiatrists. Specialists will cater to the needs of people affected by mental health issues.
Recently, DT Next had reported in a news report that the Tele-Manas helpline is facing network issues and shortage of staff, as many calls are missed.
A helpline official said measures have been taken to appoint additional staff and a second center is likely to help cater to the maximum number of people requiring mental health support.
Talking about the measures taken to reduce the number of suicides in the state, the Health Minister said that NEET aspirants, school students appearing for board exams, medical students in government medical colleges and hospitals should not participate in any case. Counseling has been provided for taking. Suffering in the initial stages. “The state has also banned the sale of rat poison,” the minister said.
