Ludhiana News- DMCH organises camp on World Mental Health Day

Ludhiana, October 10, 2013: On the occasion of World Mental Health Day , this year’s theme being Mental Health and  Older Adults, Department of Psychiatry organised a camp in Viklang Shanti Kendra, Rishi Nagar, Ludhiana for the geriatric population.

This camp was organised under the guidance of Dr.Ranjive Mahajan.

Dr.Ranjive Mahajan and Dr.Pankaj Kumar along with Dr. Jagjot saw 30 patients in the age group of 65 and above. The major issues faced by these patients are-depression, lack of family support,the elderly being the most neglected members of the family. These patients often present with complaints of forgetfulness {dementia}, confusion and loss of cognition{delirium}. The other  problems that came to light were behavioural changes, decreased self care, visual, hearing and joint problems. It was also found that compliance becomes a major issue in this age group since patients tend to forget the medications and cannot frequently visit the hospitals independently. Keeping in view the following issues and following a holistic approach, the patients and their family members were sensitised and educated regarding the same. The elderly patients were evaluated for any psychiatric illnesses and were prescribed medications and counselled accordingly. Thus an effort was made to reach out to this often neglected population group and to create an awareness about diseases like depression and dementia which plague them but go undetected. www.cityairnews.com