The Hindu Editorial With Vocab - 30th March 2017 Editorial Topic 1 - The modern way: mental health law can be used to strengthen primary care - StarkAK

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Thursday, March 30, 2017

The Hindu Editorial With Vocab - 30th March 2017 Editorial Topic 1 - The modern way: mental health law can be used to strengthen primary care

The Hindu Editorial With Vocab - 30th March 2017 Editorial Topic 1 - The modern way: mental health law can be used to strengthen primary care

 The government should use the new mental health law to strengthen primary care


 The passage of the Mental Healthcare Bill in the Lok Sabha, putting it on course to become law and repealing the Mental Health Act of 1987, will potentially help India catch up with the advances made in the field by other countries. India urgently needs to make a transition from old-fashioned approaches to providing care for those suffering from mental illnesses, something that China, for example, has achieved through state-led policy reform. Even the sketchy studies on the nature of care available to Indians indicate that in terms of population coverage the new law faces a big challenge. The country’s grossly inadequate base of professional resources is evident from its ratio of 0.3 psychiatrists for 100,000 people (with marginally higher numbers taking independent private practitioners into account), compared to China’s 1.7. Then there are massive deficiencies in the availability of trained clinical psychologists and psychiatric social workers. Evidently, the National Mental Health Programme has not been sufficiently funded within the health budget; neither has capability been built in most States to absorb the meagre allocation. Delayed though it is, the new legislation can bring about change with its positive features. The important provisions relate to the recognition of the right to medical treatment, decriminalisation of attempted suicide, explicit acceptance of agency of people with mental illness and their freedom to choose treatments, prohibition of discrimination and regulation of establishments working in the field.

 Raising effective primary and district-level coverage of mental health services for the general population, without requiring people to travel long distances to see a specialist and get medicines, should be a priority. Since the base of psychiatrists is low in relation to the need, the use of trained general practitioners as the first line of contact assumes importance. Some studies show many of them are not confident enough with their training to detect, diagnose and manage mental illnesses. With a concerted effort, primary care physicians can be trained to help people with mild and severe problems, ranging from anxiety disorders to depression, psychoses and conditions arising from alcohol and substance abuse. Being able to get professional counselling will reduce the complications arising from extreme stress, often the trigger for suicide. Extending health insurance cover is also a step forward, since out-of-pocket expenditure has risen along with the expansion of the private sector in this


  • 1.       Repealing - to state officially that a law no longer has legal authority and has ended
  • 2.       Potentially - possibly true in the future, but not true now
  • 3.       Catch up with - to begin to have an effect on someone / something
  • 4.       Advance – progress
  • 5.       Transition - the process of changing from one situation, form, or state to another
  • 6.       Sketchy - not detailed or complete
  • 7.       Grossly - very, or extremely
  • 8.       Evident - easy to see, notice, or understand
  • 9.       Psychiatrist - a doctor who treats people with mental illnesses
  • 10.   Practitioner - someone who works in a particular profession, especially medicine or law
  • 11.   Deficiency - a fault in someone or something that makes them not good enough
  • 12.   Meagre - smaller or less than you want or need
  • 13.   Decriminalisation - to change the law so that something that was illegal becomes legal
  • 14.   Explicit - said or explained in an extremely clear and direct way
  • 15.   Diagnose - to find out what physical or mental problem someone has by examining them
  • 16.   Concerted - involving a lot of people or organizations working together in a determined way
  • 17.   Mild - a mild illness or injury is one that is not serious
  • 18.   Severe - a severe problem is very serious and worrying
  • 19.   Anxiety - a worried feeling you have because you think something bad might happen
  • 20.   Psychoses - a serious mental illness that affects your ability to know what is real and changes your personality and behaviour
  • 21.   Substance abuse - the practice of drinking too much alcohol or of taking illegal drugs
  • 22.   Step forward - to offer help to someone who needs it
  • 23.   Sphere - a particular area about which you are talking about
  • 24.   Ailment - an illness, usually not a serious one
  • 25.   Seclusion - a situation in which someone stays apart or is kept apart from other people
  • 26.   Resorted to - to do something extreme or unpleasant in order to solve a problem
  • 27.   Asylum - a mental hospital
  • 28.   Electro-convulsive therapy - a medical treatment for serious mental illness in which electricity is passed through your brain
  • 29.   Weed out - to get rid of unwanted things or people from a group
  • 30.   Shady - secret and probably dishonest or illegal


  • Rehabilitation - to help someone to give up drugs or alcohol, so that they can return to a healthy, independent, and useful life