Post-Covid Psychiatry Clinic opens at NBMCH

SNS, SILIGURI. 28 JUNE 21 : A Post-Covid Psychiatry Clinic' was today opened at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH), making it the first such clinic to function in any state-run hospital in the state.

Doctors said the clinic will deal with many people who are undergoing post-recovery trauma and even cases of mental scars caused by long spells of isolation.

Many psychiatrists and mental health professionals have confirmed a significant surge in patients with post Covid complications.

'The new realities of working from home, temporary unemployment, home-schooling of children, and lack of physical contact with other family members, friends and colleagues will take time for people to get used to. Adapting to lifestyle changes such as these, and managing the fear of contracting the virus and worrying about people close to us who are particularly vulnerable, are challenging for all of us. They can he particularly difficult for people with mental health conditions," the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.

The head of the department of psychiatry at the NBMCH, Dr Nirmal Bera, said they had planned a specialized OPD for post-Covid psychiatric care to address the psychological effects of Covid-19.

"The Post-Covid Psychiatric Clinic which opened today is the first of its kind in the state. The facility was a need of the hour. Apart from the OPD, we have a 30- bed indoor facility and we can arrange for 10 beds for such treatment," Dr Bera said.

The officer on special duty of public health in north Bengal, Dr Susanta Kumar Roy and NBMCH patient welfare committee chairman Rudranath Bhattacharya inaugurated the clinic. Technology including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)--a non-invasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of depression—will be used in the clinic.

According to the assistant professor of the department, Dr Uttam Majumder, many people who had recovered from Covid-19 were visiting the OPD with different mental problems for the past one year. "That prompted us to think of having a dedicated clinic for those patients, so that we can lay focus on those cases, observing closely and collecting data for research work. !t will help us carry out a crucial research mapping Covid-related mental trauma, and in the process it will provide key insights into the tremendous impact of the disease on the human mind," Dr Majumder said.

He said they were getting patients with depression, anxiety, sleep deprivation, addiction to medicines, and memory weakness. Around three-four such patients would turn up at the OPD daily.

'The clinic will screen post Covid patients, provide pshyotherapy, educate them on sleep hygiene and others. If necessary, they will be admitted. We are getting the TMS machine soon and it will be used, based on requirement, and it does not have any effect," Dr Majumder said.

The cost of the machine is around Its 20 lakh. The department has one professor, one associate professor, one assistant professor, and one resident medical officer, apart from PGT and house staff.

"Our observation at the OPD and Covid helpline levels led us to the conclusion that many psychological symptoms like depression, phobia, anxiety and psychological stress are quantitatively more in clinic-based population as well as in general population, Covid-19 positive persons, their families, those in quarantine as well as in healthcare and frontline workers. We have studied multiple social phenomenon like stigma towards Covid-19, affected persons and their contacts, marital conflict, loss of livelihood, withdrawal symptoms in addicted persons and effect on academic careers of the student population," he said.