Officials acknowledge plight of Hyderabad mental facility
SHRC urges multi-sectoral action as abandoned patients and resource gaps strain Sindh’s largest mental health facility HYDERABAD: During a high-level visit to Sindh’s largest mental health facility in Hyderabad -- Sir Cowasji Jehangir Institute of Psychiatry -- officials acknowledged major gaps in psychiatric staffing and patient rehabilitation as well as security concerns. Medical Superintendent Dr Nisar Ahmed Soho flagged the growing burden of long-recovered but abandoned patients, while Sindh Human Rights Commission (SHRC) Chairperson Iqbal Ahmed Detho called for introducing multi-agency coordination and rights-based reforms to ensure continued care and dignity for the province’s mentally ill population. MS Dr Soho highlighted the plight of the abandoned long-recovered patients, particularly elderly men and women, who are reportedly left behind due to lack of guardianship. He also raised concerns over critical shortages of trained psychiatric personnel and overstretched hospital...