Forensic Psychiatry discussed at GMC

The Psychiatry Department of Government Medical College recently organized a two-day conference in Amritsar, which had discussion on forensic psychiatry. It was an initiative to spread awareness amongst the doctors and the people of North India, about Forensic Psychiatry. Dr. Ramnesh Puri, and Dr Manjit S Gahir, who are the consultants of forensic Psychiatry in the United Kingdom, led the conference.

Nowadays a number of suicidal and criminal cases are coming upfront where the people have been suffering from some sort of mental disorders, which lead them to take this step. Forensic Psychiatry is one of those procedures, which helps in curing the people suffering from mental disorders of any form.

As per Dr Puri, this is that form of Psychiatry, which is in order with the law and also deals with criminal matters and prisoners and courts, wherever required. Mental disorders are so common, that more than 25% of population around the world has been a victim of some kind of mental disorder or the other during some point of time in their lives. It is just that its hard to identify the systems, and also people are not very aware of the same as yet.

In India, people and even the law is not well-aware of these kinds of diseases. Here, if someone commits a crime, which is otherwise committed in a state of mental disorder, he/she is put behind the bars, but it is not the same everywhere around the world. In places like UK, the system identifies the issue with the person, and extends a helping hand, to cure his problem and make him a sane person, to lead a better life.

India needs this kind of process and understanding, so that people suffering from such diseases can come forward and make use of the facilities that can help in curing their mental situation. The government and the lawmakers of the country should understand this wide-spreading disease and make the required changes for such patients, so that they can be supervised and given the required care and medication. Various other international delegates participated in this conference, and discussed a number of new discoveries and insights in this segment.