The Regional Mental Hospital (RMH) in Yerawada, Pune, in collaboration with the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and the Mental Health Review Board (MHRB), has announced a novel legal intervention to address the issue of long-stay recovered patients whose families refuse to reclaim them. In what marks a first for Maharashtra, the hospital intends to activate legal mechanisms empowering families to take responsibility for discharged patients remaining under care despite being medically stable.
At present, RMH houses around 40 long-term recovered patients - 25 women and 15 men who have been declared well enough to return home. Many of these individuals have resided in the facility for one to over five years, during which they have regained stability and no longer pose a risk to themselves or others. Despite this, families have repeatedly declined to accept them, even while continuing to benefit financially from their bank accounts, pensions, or property, an ongoing arrangement that hospital authorities deem ethically untenable.
Dr. Shrinivas Kolad, RMH’s medical superintendent, emphasized that the legal push is not mere coercion, but a deliberate move to preserve patient dignity and improve quality of life. He noted that stable patients fare better when reintegrated into their communities, reducing the risk of relapse. A senior psychiatrist added that unnecessarily extended institutionalization of well patients infringes upon their rights.
Under the approved plan, the MHRB will issue formal notices to families, threatening to revoke their rights to the patients’ financial and property interests if they continue to shirk responsibility. These notices will be circulated to banks and the Inspector General of Registration and Stamps to reinforce the accountability framework.
In addition, RMH plans to organize legal aid camps and awareness sessions aimed at educating families about their duties and supporting home-based care services. The initiative reaffirms the hospital’s willingness to facilitate reintegration, while asserting that abandonment particularly where families profit is unacceptable.
This issue extends beyond Pune: all four state mental hospitals in Maharashtra- Thane, Pune, Nagpur, and Ratnagiri face similar challenges with families unwilling to reclaim recovered patients. Historically, interventions by the police resolved about half of these cases. This new hospital-led legal approach hopes to set a precedent statewide, ensuring that continued abandonment is legally addressed and that patient welfare is prioritized.
If successful, the initiative could mark a turning point in protecting the rights of individuals with mental illness- emphasizing that familial obligation and respect for recovered patients’ autonomy must coexist. What began in Pune may now steer a collective reform across Maharashtra’s mental health sector.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Sakshi Thakar/MSM/SE)