Future plan and Activities

The  Sindh Mental Health  Authority  has several plans and programs where Authority  has laid grounds to expand the efforts and purpose .

Helplines

The Authority  has been continuously working for expansion of the services of Helpline from 9am to 3 pm, the future plan includes 24/7 services.

Opening of Mental Health Wards in the Divisions/Districts of Sindh

On the recommendation of SMHA two wards have been established in Karachi and one in Mithi. The wards also include the first children mental health ward. SMHA  realizes the disproportion in the availability mental health services providers and population need. Therefore the Authority further envisages facility development initiatives  throughout the Province of Sindh. 

Increase in Number of Psychiatrist and Mental Health Professionals for dealing the case

There are about 140 Psychiatrist registered in Sindh . The Sindh Mental Health Authority has plans, short, medium and long terms plans, for capacity building for mental health service providers according to the growing population needs and has requested the Health Department to recruit Psychiatrists and psychologists in all Districts of Sindh through Sindh Public   Service Commission.

Psychologists taken on board

The Sindh Mental Health Authority envisions the role of  psychologists is as important as psychiatrists for achieving goals of the Mental Health Services .In the ACT of 2013 there is no provision of psychologist so Authority had a meeting with all Psychologists of Sindh in which Sindh University Head of Psychology Department University of Sindh Jamshoro arranged the meeting on request of authority chairman at Indus Hotel Hyderabad in which Karachi University Head Of Department of Psychology , Institute of Clinical Psychology Karachi, Bahria University Head Of Department of Psychology and other psychologists were present. And in the follow-up meeting in July 2020 at the Head Office of SMHA in Karachi formulated the future agenda of amendments in the Sindh Mental Act 2013. 

Research Studies

The Sindh Mental Health Authority has focused Two areas for research recently.

First one is about suicidal patterns and underlying factors causing increase in the suicidal incidences in the last 5 years . The studies will be undertaken in collaboration with the Sindh Police, Sindh Health Deptt, Community Health Sciences Department, LUHMS Jamshoro and Dr. Murad Moosa from AKU (International Association for Suicide Prevention IASP) and public health specialist and other public health specialist. Tentatively these researches will be completed by October 2020.

Second research is about Child Psychiatry.

Publication of Magazine

A quarterly magazine will be published by Sindh Mental Health Authority.

Training of Mental Health Stakeholders

Doctors and LHV(lady Health Visitor)/ LHW(lady Health Worker)

The Sindh Mental Health Authority  envisages to provide training to Mental Health Stakeholders in all the District of Sindh, which includes Service providers like Doctors, paramedical , LHW etc, system regulators including policy makers,  field managers, members of Judiciary , Security personal and civil society on the whole as beneficiary of the mental health system.