Siliguri gets Bengal's first post COVID psychiatric clinic

Doctors are saying that many patients who are recovering from COVID-19 infection are later on developing psychological ailments. There are cases where some have temporarily lost their recollection abilities. Keeping in mind the trauma factor and the mental health of Coronavirus patients, a COVID Psychiatric Clinic, the first of its kind in West Bengal is being developed.

Siliguri (West Bengal): Doctors are saying that many patients who are recovering from COVID-19 infection are later on developing psychological ailments. There are cases where some have temporarily lost their recollection abilities. Keeping in mind the trauma factor and the mental health of Coronavirus patients, a COVID Psychiatric Clinic, the first of its kind in West Bengal is being developed.

Because of the sustained restrictions during the second wave of COVID-19 the average daily COVID-19 graph in the state has started declining. The recovery rate has also started increasing. However, a section of the doctors is still worried. They have noticed that almost one-third of the recovered patients are suffering from post-COVID-19 psychiatric problems.

Development of suicidal tendencies, sleeplessness, loss of memory, and inferiority complex are some of these post-COVID-19 symptoms. Loss of employment during the pandemic period, salary curtailment, home isolation, loss in business are often leading to these psychiatric problems. According to doctors, the situation becomes really complex for such patients.

To treat these patients North Bengal Medical College & Hospital have decided to start the state's first post-COVID psychiatric clinic under the institute's psychiatry department. To begin with, it will start with 20 beds. They will be healed through counselling, music therapy, meditation and other forms of modern psychiatric treatment. The state health department has already spent Rs 20 lakhs for that purpose.

The department officer on special duty (public health, North Bengal), Dr Sushanta Roy said that several patients are developing post-COVID-19 psychiatric problems after recovery. "For them, this special clinic has been opened. The head of the department of the institute's psychiatry department, Dr Nirmal Bera said that their institute is the first in the state to start such a clinic," he added.

The department's assistant professor, Dr Uttam Majumdar said, "one-third of the patients recovering from COVID-19 are facing psychiatric problems. Besides treating such patients we accumulate the findings of the different case studies and prepare a thesis report. This will help us in treating such patients better in future."